Two Black Dots
by Tharros
Summary: Uraraka Ochako has the power to give things flight, but more importantly, she has the power to make things come crashing back down to earth. And Bakugo Katsuki falls hard. A slow burn action/romance in which Uraraka kicks ass, Bakugo is bad at feelings, and the League of Villains is steadily on the rise and still trying to gain Bakugo's allegiance. KACCHAKO.
1. Chapter 1: Don't Puke On Your Partner

A/N: Welcome! I've been doing some editing to these early chapters. I plan to edit through at least chapter four, because when I started this story, I didn't really know where I was going with it and I was falling back on my Jily writing style, which doesn't really fit Kacchako. No major changes to anything that happens (if you're re-reading), just some stylistic changes and addition of detail. I'll put a little edited tag on each chapter as I repost them.

This story pics up after the Provisional License Exam arc, right after Uraraka, Deku, Kirishima, and Tsuyu start their internships.

* * *

 **Chapter One: Don't Puke On Your Partner**

(Uraraka)

Uraraka swallowed hard against the nausea that rose in the back of her throat, big brown eyes glued to the stopwatch ticking away in her hand. She floated about ten feet off the ground of Gym Gamma, letting the wild air created by the quirks of her classmates push her wherever it saw fit. The sounds of explosions, yelling, and cracking cement blurred together in a hum that Uraraka pushed to the edges of her consciousness. All that mattered was that she stay afloat just a _bit_ longer.

"Oy! Fuckstick! Find somewhere else to be useless!"

Uraraka yelped in surprise and tore her eyes from the timer to see Baguko glaring up at her from the ground below. He was breathing hard and coated in sweat and dust and that familiar, petulant fury radiated from his eyes.

In the split second it took to take in the fact that she'd somehow floated halfway across the gym and into Bakugo's walled-off training area, Uraraka also became instantly and painfully aware of the nausea roiling in her gut.

"I said get out—ARG!" Bakugo's command was cut off with a howl of disgust as the contents of Uraraka's stomach spilled out on top of him.

She considered staying in the air actually forever to avoid having to land beside him, but dizziness caused her vision to sway and it was better to face his wrath for _one_ puke-fest instead of two.

Face feeling a little green, Uraraka pressed the tips of her fingers together. "R-Release." She landed in front of him and put her hands on her knees, breathing hard. "Sorry, B-Bakugo, you surp—"

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" yelled the boy, not even bothering to wipe the vomit away. His hands crackled and sparked dangerously at his sides as he took the extra step he needed to get in her face. Uraraka, still bending over, found herself looking at his feet. "First you come into _my_ zone and when I tell you to leave you go and puke your guts out? Who the fuck do you think you are?"

Wiping the back of her hand across her mouth, Uraraka straightened, pulling her face into what she hoped was something defiantly apologetic. She wasn't really sure what exactly to say, because she knew she'd be upset if someone threw up all over her too, but she was saved from having to come up with something by Kirishima, who climbed atop the wall Cementoss had erected between Bakugo and the rest of the class.

"Yo, Bakugo," he said, hopping down and surveying the situation with a wrinkled nose. "It's not very manly to yell at a girl. You okay, Uraraka?"

"You wanna go, hair-for-brains?"

Kirishima held up his hands in mock surrender as other students began appearing on top of the wall, curiosity getting the better of them. Uraraka felt her face go from green to red.

"Uraraka! You should not be so careless about where you float!" Iida said loudly, moving his arm up and down. "And Bakugo! You know she is prone to sickness while using her quirk! It was unwise to distract her. Both of you are at fault here! Please make better choices in the future!"

"Like hell it's—"

But Bakugo's retort was cut off by the appearance of All Might, who managed a quick "I AM HERE" before reverting to his emaciated form. Tsuyu put a steadying hand on his elbow as he teetered for a moment on the wall.

"Class time is nearly over, young heroes!" He coughed violently. "But I have a special lesson in store for next week! Please change back into your uniforms and meet in the classroom so I might discuss it with you! Everyone, please allow Young Bakugo first use of the shower!"

Bakugo growled low in his throat and pushed past Kirishima and Uraraka to blast a hole in one of the walls. He stormed toward the locker rooms without a backward glance.

Uraraka winced a bit and followed Kirishima out the newly created exited. Deku jumped back down from above and patted her on the back.

"He'll cool off," he said in a tone that spoke from experience. "Or...not _cool off_ , but redirect."

He smiled with his signature thousand-watt-optimism and Uraraka's nausea was stirred up again by the butterflies that wreaked havoc in her stomach at the sight.

Vomiting on Bakugo was one thing, but she thought she'd die of embarrassment if she puked on Deku, so she gave him a quick nod and rushed out of the gym.

In the locker room, Mina and Hagakure were in fits of laughter.

"Oh my _god_ , Uraraka," Mina gasped between giggles. "That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen! Did you see Bakugo's face? I thought you were about to be toast!"

"So did I," said Yaoyorozu, shaking her head. "You should pay more attention to where you're floating. Have you thought about talking to the support department about some sort of directional enhancement to your costume?"

"Mood killer," Mina said, sticking her tongue out at Yaoyorozu.

"Yeah, I have," Uraraka said, going to her locker and pulling her spare toothbrush from her backpack. "Hatsume is working on a design for me. I'm just trying to extend my air-time right now. Zero Gravity mobility won't mean much if I can't stay afloat."

Yaoyorozu nodded. "Still...of all the people you could've run into…"

Uraraka cringed, taking as long as possible to brush her teeth. There would likely be hell to pay when she get back to the classroom.

(Bakugo)

Clenching and unclenching his fists, Bakugo slouched in his desk. He could practically feel Deku opening and closing his mouth behind him, and knew that shitstain wanted to say something about how he'd yelled at his little fangirl earlier. Bakugo's palms started sweating again at the thought.

"Uraraka," he growled as the brunette entered the room, she met his eye and gave him a pathetic sort of grimace. Bakugo flipped her off.

"Everyone! Please find your seats!" yelled the class rep, and Bakugo rolled his eyes, a headache beginning in his temple.

All Might entered then, or what was left of All Might. That withered body had done nothing to dampen the former Number One's indomitable spirit, but it still gave Bakugo a jolt when he saw what his idol had been reduced to. Almost unconsciously, he sat up a bit straighter.

"Next week," All Might began, "we will be combining several different aspects of your hero training! Quirk extension, special moves, and combo moves!" The hero looked around the class, waiting for a reaction.

"I have a question, sensei!" the class rep exclaimed loudly, his hand rigidly in the air. "What do you mean by 'combo moves'? Will we be combining our own special moves into new moves or working with the Quirks of our classmates?"

"The latter, Young Iida," said All Might. "You have each been assigned a partner, with whom Aizawa and I think you could effectively combine your Quirks! We hope you will be able to come up with things beyond even our imagining! You will have the weekend to discuss possibilities with your partner and all of next week to train and practice. Then, at the end, you will face off against the other pairs in a team Battle Royale! Grades will be awarded based on your creativity and teamwork!"

"What will the groups be?" asked the grape-headed scum that sat behind Deku. Bakugo imagined the twerp drooling in the direction of one or all of the girls.

"Glad you asked!" All Might whipped out a list. "We tried to make different groups from those in the final exam, so that you can gain more experience working with different types of Quirks! The teams will be as follows: Yaoyorozu Momo and Midoriya Izuku, Jiro Kyoko and Hagakure Toru, Mineta Minoru and Kaminari Denki, Ashido Mina and Kirishima Eijiro, Todoroki Shoto and Asui Tsuyu, Sato Rikido and Ojiro Mashirao, Koda Koji and Shoji Mezo, Sero Hanta and Aoyama Yuga, Tokoyami Fumikage and Iida Tenya, and last but not least, Uraraka Ochako and Bakugo Katsuki! Isn't this wonderful? Plus Ultra, young students! I expect great things!"

"What do you mean I got stuck with him?" the grape-headed one squealed. "My Quirk would be perfect with Uraraka or Ashido or Yaoyorozu! Bakugo, Kirishima, Midoriya! One of you switch with me!"

"There will be no switching!" All Might said loudly, just as Bakugo was about to volunteer.

"Stuck with Uraraka my ass," he grumbled, shooting daggers at the girl. She was ignoring him, however, and looking instead at Deku. _Fucking great,_ thought Bakugo. _If she says one word about that damn nerd I'll blast her fucking face off._

(Uraraka)

 _Just my rotten luck,_ Uraraka thought glumly, glancing between Deku and Yaoyorozu. _Deku gets paired with the most beautiful and talented girl in the class and I get stuck with a homicidal maniac._

"Class dismissed! Please take time this weekend to meet with your partners and strategize!"

Chairs scraped as the class stood, most seeking out their partners right away. Uraraka scanned the groups, trying to size them up. Deku and Yaoyorozu would definitely be a problem, but there were tons of other strong teams too. All Might and Aizawa had really gone all out in pairing people with their best matches.

 _Well, everyone but me._

Steeling herself, Uraraka made her way through the teams toward Bakugo, who was making a beeline for the door.

"Hey, Bakugo, I—"

"Out of my way, fuckstick."

"Wait! We're supposed to be a team. Can we at least be civil for a week?"

"A team?" growled Bakugo, continuing out the door and down the hall. Uraraka followed, nearly jogging to match his pace. "What exactly do you think you can add to my Quirk? Unless you want to make exploding puke then you might as well piss off."

Uraraka fumbled for words. Why was he being so mean? He'd seen her as an equal at the Sports Festival, why was he being like this now? "You don't have to be a jerk, Bakugo," she said, her voice shaking slightly. He kept walking. "Look, I'm sorry for earlier, okay? It was an accident and I'm working on the whole nausea thing. We're going to have to work together if we want to beat Deku and—"

"YOU THINK I CAN'T BEAT THAT INCOMPETENT MORON?" Bakugo yelled, turning on her and stopping her in her tracks. It had been the wrong thing to say on Uraraka's part. "I plan on becoming number one and I don't need the help of some whiny fangirl to do it."

"W-What?"

"You always fawning over that damn nerd and it's _pathetic_. You make me sick. If you love him so damned much, go bother him instead. I'll beat him on my own."

Bakugo turned on his heel and stalked off, leaving Uraraka red in the face. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes and she blinked them away. _Stupid, arrogant jerk,_ she thought, crossing her arms and turning back toward the classroom. She wasn't _that_ obvious about her feelings for Deku, was she? That _Bakugo_ , with the emotional intelligence of a sea slug, was able to pick up on it? The other groups began emerging then, talking amicably among themselves.

Deku and Yaoyorozu were laughing at something Mina was saying, but Deku stopped when he saw Uraraka's face.

"What's wrong, Uraraka?"

"What do you think?" Mina asked, rolling her eyes and coming to put an arm around Uraraka's shoulders, guiding her back toward the rest of the class. "She got stuck with Explodey McSplode-face as a partner right after she puked on him during training. That can't have been a pleasant conversation."

Deku flinched. "Kacchan is difficult to deal with, that's for sure," he said sympathetically. "But if anyone can do it, you can, Uraraka!"

She felt her face heat again and quickly looked away. "Th-thanks, Deku."

"I bet you and Kacchan can come up with some great combos!"

"For sure," said Mina, though she sounded less convinced than Deku. "All Might definitely paired you guys up for a reason. The people we should really feel sorry for are Kaminari and Sero! Poor things are stuck with Mineta and Aoyama—yeesh."

"True," Uraraka said. She clenched her fist in front of her and stomped her foot. "I'll make Bakugo work with me no matter what!"

"That is the correct attitude!" said Iida, coming up on her other side and thumping her on the back. "Perhaps by tomorrow, Bakugo will have forgotten all about the vomiting incident and the two of you can move forward as a team!"

Uraraka buried her face in her hands. "Why do you guys keep bringing that up?"

"Because that was the _best_ face I've ever seen Bakugo make!" said Mina, grinning ear to ear. "And _that's_ saying something!"

(Bakugo)

Rather than going straight back to the dorm with the rest, Bakugo shoved his hands in his pockets and made his way to the track that ran around the circumference of the campus. A few older students were running along it, but Bakugo maintained his leisurely pace when he stepped onto the red cement.

Things hadn't been the same since All Might's retirement, even though the once-Number-One hero tried to keep up a sense of bravado for the students' sake. But strength or no, Bakugo knew that All Might's judgment was sound. If he thought Explosion and Zero Gravity could work well together...there must be some sort of combo that could get him a passing grade.

Working with Zero Gravity would be one thing, but working with Uraraka...that would be something else. He'd seen the way she looked at Deku, heard the way she praised him, and noticed how she tried to mimic him. It had to be obvious to just about everyone how infatuated she was.

The pounding in his temple resumed, and Bakugo dug his fingers into the sides of his head.

He didn't get the Deku-hype. Uraraka loved him, All Might chose him, the Half-and-Half bastard respected him. And for what? For a Quirk he didn't earn? For something he couldn't control and didn't know what to do with? For something he hadn't spent years honing and developing?

His palms were sweating and Bakugo took a deep breath.

 _"I judged it was my responsibility to help him stand in the arena," All Might had said when Bakugo asked why he chose Deku. "And not you, who had long already been standing in it."_

All Might believed that Bakugo was a contender.

"Wait up!"

His Quirk sparked at the voice behind him, but he ignored her and picked up his pace.

"Bakugo! Come on."

"Leave me the fuck alone, Airhead!"

Uraraka sprinted up beside him, looking unperturbed by his rudeness.

"Tch," he scoffed, refusing to meet her eye.

"You can be mean to me all you like, Bakugo," she said brightly, punching a fist into her open palm. "We're still partners and we still have to work together. We're getting graded on teamwork, remember? I think we should at least _try_ to strategize before Monday. Unless you want everyone else to be ahead of us."

He rarely let anyone speak for so long uninterrupted, but he felt it would be futile to stop her. She'd already proven herself to be unafraid of him.

"Tch," he scoffed again. "Just leave the thinking to me, Airhead."

"Sorry, Bakugo, but it's not going to work that way."

His head throbbed as he turned to face her, a glare sharp in his eyes. "The fuck was—"

But the determined gleam her own eyes matched the look she'd given him at the Sports Festival, and Bakugo fought the urge to glance up and make sure there weren't rocks hovering above his head.

"We're partners, Bakugo, a _team_ ," she cut him off, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "I know you think you're stronger and smarter and better than me, and maybe you are, but we're equals in this. We'll get the same grade. I'm half the operation, so I'll be doing half the planning. I'm not just going to sit back and let you make all the decisions. This is part of our training to be pros, and I need as much practice as I can get."

Bakugo put his crackling hands into his pockets, trying to assume a nonchalant stance. "Hell if I care," he shrugged. "Do everything if you want. But I'm telling you, I don't need your help to beat fucking Deku."

"You know...I followed you to make things right," she said, suddenly refusing to meet his eye. Bakugo's curiosity sparked just a bit. "I...I told them not to try to save you when the League of Villains took you and I wanted to apologize for being so cowardly. But now...I think I'll save my breath. You don't need my help, we'll see about that."

The self-assured look in her eyes made him gag. _Fucking brilliant,_ he thought, leaving her standing alone on the track. _She's finally decided to show her backbone._

But maybe, maybe she'd let that backbone show in the Battle Royale. Maybe he could use Deku's fangirl to his advantage.

And she wasn't wrong. He hadn't wanted them to save him.

(Meanwhile, Naegi Nobusuke)

"Naegi, have you considered our request?"

The hero-turned-pop-star looked at his agent. "About finding a suitable match? Of course. I think it is the best thing we can do for my career at the present time."

"And have you gone through the list of candidates?"

"I wouldn't call it much of a list. Mt. Lady would be ideal, but she's just a bit too old. It might be seen as creepy and defile both our reputations. So instead, I've chosen someone more suitable. Someone up-and-coming."

"Oh?" his agent raised one of her manicured eyebrows. "And who might that be?"

"An intern with the Ryukyu Agency."

"Hado Nejire? She's almost a sidekick isn't she?"

"No, not Hado." He slid a picture toward his agent. A girl with chestnut hair, brown eyes, and a pink and black suit. "U.A. Freshman: Uraraka Ochako."

"I recognize her. She did well in the Sports Festival. And she's so cute."

"Her Quirk, Zero Gravity, is an excellent match for mine."

"I will speak with her immediately and get everything arranged."

"Uraraka Ochako," said Naegi. "You will be _mine_."

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 **A/N:** As you can probably tell, this is a canon-compliant school story, which I find there aren't enough of. Please leave me a review and thanks for reading! Plus Ultra!


	2. Chapter 2: Voices in Our Heads

A/N: Thank you to those who reviewed/followed/favorited! It means the world!

For those that haven't read the manga, Hado is Hado Nejire, a third year at U.A. who helps Uraraka and Asui get their internship with Ryukyu.

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Chapter Two: Voices in Our Heads

(Uraraka)

Uraraka drummed her fingers on the table, Tsuyu dozing off beside her. Ryukyu had been in this meeting for over an hour and the sidekicks had left on patrol without them. Uraraka wanted to bang her head on the desk.

"It's like this sometimes," said Hado. The older girl twirled a strand of long blue hair around her finger and popped her gum. "It's not the glamorous hero work you usually think of, huh? But everyone starts at the bottom, you know?"

Honestly, Uraraka thought it was a waste of time, but she'd already learned so much since gaining her Provisional License, and she didn't want to risk losing the opportunity to work with a pro. But at least when she'd been with Gunhead's agency, she'd spent all her down time training.

"Hey, Hado," she said, sliding her chair out a bit. "Is there a gym here? Maybe we could get in some sparring while we wait?"

The older girl looked surprised, but clapped her hands together and smiled. "Of _course_! Lovely idea, Uraraka! I would love to see more of both of your Quirks!"

"Actually," said Uraraka, rubbing the back of her neck, "I was hoping to get in some Quirkless combat training. My Quirk isn't always great in the heat of battle, so I like to hone my body into a weapon of its own. Gunhead taught me that last semester, and I'd like to keep it up."

Hado's eyes gleamed. "I _knew_ I liked you. Come on!"

She all but sprinted through the hall, leading Uraraka and Tsuyu down flights of stairs until they reached the basement of the headquarters.

"Da da da! Behold!" exclaimed Hado, sweeping her arm across the huge space. "The training facilities of the Number Nine hero!"

The gym was enormous. There was a wide padded floor where a couple of sidekicks were duking it out in boxing gloves, punching bags hung from the ceiling, weights and training equipment took up most of the far wall, weapons of every variety sat gleaming on racks, climbing ropes hung from the ceiling, and a large running track took up most of the perimeter.

"This is... _wow_ ," said Uraraka. "So much bigger than Gunhead's place."

Hado laughed. " _Duh._ When you're one of the Top Ten, your agency has access to _tons_ of government funding. Plus, support companies give you all kinds of free stuff in the hopes that you'll start buying from them exclusively."

"Welcome ladies!" A lithe, wiry man approached them. He was wearing track pants and a tank top with a headband tied around his forehead. "What can I do for you?"

"This is Sasaki Katakane," Hado said. "Sasaki, these are the new interns—Uraraka and Asui. We were looking for some Quirkless physical training while we wait for the boss to finish her meeting."

"Well you've come to the right place! My Quirk, Jack of All Trades, allows me to quickly master any form of combat or martial art I wish to, so I'd be happy to instruct you in anything you'd like!"

Hado and Tsuyu looked at Uraraka expectantly. "How about some basic Judo?" the brunette suggested. "From what I learned with Gunhead, it's mostly about taking down and immobilizing enemies. Something like that could be really helpful against villains."

"Right you are! Why don't you go change out of those hero suits and into something more flexible? There are tracksuits in the locker room."

Uraraka grinned and followed Hado in the direction Sasaki indicated, pleased to be doing something useful.

(Bakugo)

His blood was practically boiling as he pushed past Half-And-Half and out of the door of the Licensing Headquarters. All day, _all fucking day_ , they'd been forced to set up and disassemble an on-site medical facility. They'd mastered it after one go, but the instructor had insisted on "burning it into their brains." Fucking bastard. Besides, when he became the number one hero, he'd have sidekicks to do that sort of thing for him so he could focus on obliterating the villains instead.

Half-And-Half said nothing as they made their way to the train station with Eraserhead, who had insisted on personally escorting them to and from remedial lessons "for their protection."

Tch.

The truth of it was, he and Half-And-Half were learning a great deal more about the practical aspects of being a hero than their classmates at U.A. Those doing internships were probably getting the same level of experience, but the run-of-the-mill first years definitely would fall behind.

That was why Bakugo hadn't totally flipped his lid just yet.

"Todoroki," said Eraserhead as they neared the campus. "Asui asked me to inform you that she'll be waiting for you in Gym Gamma to practice."

Bakugo waited for him to say something about Uraraka, but the teacher remained silent.

 _All bark no bite, huh Angelface?_ he thought. _Looks like you want to leave the thinking up to me after all._

Of course, that wouldn't be the case. Bakugo parted ways with Eraserhead and Half-And-Half once they reached campus, but as soon as he entered the dorm, there she was, floating through the common area upside down with her eyes closed like a fucking idiot.

He ignored her and made his way toward the stairs that would lead to his room, but as soon as he reached the door, he heard a bright "Bakugo!"

Turning slowly, he saw her right herself and release her Quirk. She clicked the timer in her hand and grinned.

"Two whole minutes! Yes!"

Bakugo rolled his eyes. "The fuck do you want?" She was dressed casually in a t-shirt and shorts, her hair was damp, and Bakugo noticed fresh bruises on her arms and legs. "And how the fuck did you get so beat up?"

 _Gods, it almost sounded like I care. Tch._

"Oh!" her cheeks turned pink as she examined her bruised legs. "Training at my internship today. We—"

"I don't actually care." He made to head up to his room, but her voice stopped him.

"I've been thinking of some combo moves! And I really think we should talk about it. I'm sure you've had some ideas too. I could make tea if you want. Though I'm not very good at making tea. Maybe hot chocolate?"

She began rummaging through the cabinets in the kitchen area, floating herself to get a better look at the top shelves.

"There's apple cider too! Wow, they really went all-out. Do you have a preference?"

Bakugo rubbed his temples. "I don't give a shit. Just spit out your ideas and get this over with."

Uraraka pressed her fingers together and dropped back to the ground. "I was just trying to be nice, jeez."

"Whatever." Bakugo flopped onto the couch and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. "Talk."

He felt the cushion depress beside him but didn't open his eyes. "Well, I've been talking to Hatsume in the support department about some sort of costume upgrade that'll allow me to control my actions in the air, because right now I'm pretty subject to wind and everything. While I was talking to her, I realized something that works kind of like your Quirk would actually be sort of perfect, and that got me thinking that I could use Zero Gravity on the both of us and you could control our movements using your Quirk! You could get us in close to one of the other teams, I could touch them, and most of them wouldn't have any control in the air! We could take them out easy!"

"I've already thought of that one, moron," said Bakugo, eyes still closed. "The question is can you float me, you, and two other people at the same time? Judging from that stunt you pulled yesterday, I seriously doubt it."

"For the record, Mr. 'Number One,' I've been getting better and better every day. Two minutes floating myself nausea-free is huge for me considering that I used to not be able to float myself even for a second without getting sick. Who's to say that it won't be even longer a week from now? And my weight limit has gone up quite a bit too. So why don't you give it a rest and have some faith in me?"

Bakugo growled. "We'll see how training goes before you get cocky. Besides, I've got a better idea."

"Which is…?"

Bakugo gave her a lazy, sidelong look, his head still resting on the back of the couch. "You float just me. I won't have to use my explosions to stay airborne. I can fly at people and distract them while you get in close and float them too. Like you said, most people won't have any control of their movements in the air so I could take them out easy."

"That was basically what I said," Uraraka said, turning to face him on the couch. "But I think my idea is better."

"Why-"

" _Because_ your plan relies on speed and distraction. Mine relies only on speed. Especially since the whole class knows who the teams are and what Quirks we have, we can't count on the element of surprise."

"No shit, Sherlock. I'm just trying to come up with something that uses your Quirk and keeps you out of my way."

Uraraka made a strangled sort of huffing noise and glared at him. "You do realize that part of being a professional hero is working with others right? You realize that's _why_ they gave us this assignment? Besides, I've been doing lots of training beyond Quirk extension. I can fight."

" _Right_."

Bakugo didn't have a real reason for being so antagonistic toward her. He'd seen her fight in the final exams and spar with some of the others during class. She was capable and stronger than she looked. But the way she always looked to Deku for approval made his stomach turn unpleasantly. As if that piece of shit knew anything about fighting.

Uraraka rubbed her hands down her face, her expression exasperated. Bakugo nearly smirked, but then her eyes lit up.

"What if we do something like what I did at the Sports Festival?" she said quickly, using her hands to motion for him not to argue. "Hear me out. I float us _and_ a bunch of rocks, which you could easily make by using your Quirk on the ground in the arena. In the air, where many of our classmates can't reach us, you can blow up the rocks and rain them down on everyone. It would take some serious Quirk control on my part to release only certain rocks right as you explode them. But it might be worth trying!"

"That plan puts most of the responsibility on you and your Quirk. What if we're fighting for an extended period of time?"

"I would be set up and maneuverability. You'd be offense and defense, so it would actually probably be more even than you're making it sound. But you're right about the time thing." She slumped forward, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. "The support company that made our costumes gave mine lots of upgrades to help control the nausea, but I'd like to get to a point where I don't need that feature. Hmm...I suppose there isn't much for it but to work extra hard this week!"

She touched her hands together and started to float upward, but Bakugo grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down onto the couch. Her incredulous eyes met his and he said, " _That's_ what you're going with? 'Working extra hard?' What is this, a fucking kids' movie?"

He'd inadvertently pulled her closer to him, and he got a whiff of jasmine and lavender from her still-damp hair. He leaned away from her to avoid inhaling it deeper. It was surprisingly pleasant.

Uraraka noticed his movement and quirked an eyebrow. "Afraid you'll catch cooties?" she teased.

Bakugo snorted. "Mature."

"Says Lord Explosion Murder."

"You think you're clever, fuckstick?"

"Gods, Bakugo, can't you call me something else?"

Bakugo crossed his arms. "It fits."

Uraraka rolled her eyes and pulled her wrist from his slackened grip, floating several feet above the couch and resetting the timer that hung around her neck. "Well anyway, _yes_. Working hard is exactly what I'm going with. That's how you got as strong as you are, right?"

Bakugo didn't reply to that. Instead, he stood from the couch and avoided the challenge in her eyes as he made his way toward the stairs that led up to the boys' dorms.

"See you in class!" Uraraka called in an obnoxiously bright voice.

Tch.

(Uraraka)

After Bakugo's back disappeared up the stairs, Uraraka let out a relieved breath. To have to always be "on" around someone was...exhausting. Not to mention that thinking about how he'd bested her in the Sports Festival _still_ got her worked up.

 _I was so close_ , she lamented for the upteenth time since he'd bested her.

She wobbled in the air, the familiar nausea rising in the back of her throat. _Focus, Ochako!_

Dealing with Bakugo required a steady dose of positivity and sunshine. She'd learned that from watching Kirishima interact with the explosive teen. But to Kirishima, it seemed to come so naturally, while Uraraka often found herself to be a bit too honest. To speak with Bakugo, one had to constantly remind oneself that his fury was laughable and insignificant. One's joy had to be greater than Bakugo's rage.

But what if his anger wasn't so ridiculous?

 _Don't be stupid, Ochako. You know it's all just a tough-guy act on his part. There isn't anything deeper beneath the surface than his need to prove himself._

 _Hmm,_ she thought back at the voice in her head (anything to distract her from the timer ticking away in her hand). _But what if he's angry because he's not as good as he wants to be? Or what if he's angry because it was in saving him that All Might was forced to retire?_

 _He was angry long before All Might fought All For One._

 _What if it was because he looks up to All Might? And yet All Might always seems to favor Deku? What if it's because he's always seen Deku as less-than and now they're standing on the same playing field?_

 _You're thinking too much into this, Ochako. It's just teenage angst._

She was probably right in that, but Bakugo was consistently in the top of the class in hero training _and_ academics. It was what he wanted, right? To be the best? So why did he try to diminish those achievements with his temper?

 _Ugh. Why do I even care?_

Because he was her partner in a project for All Might's class. But more than that, because he _was_ so much better than her. If she wanted to become a top hero, he was a hurdle she'd need to overcome.

 _And if I can get him to work with me, then maybe I can learn from him too._

(Bakugo)

His ears rang as he stalked up the stairs to his dorm. He _never_ let people talk for long. He never cared about what his classmates had to say.

So what the fuck was different about tonight?

Probably the fact that she admired that fucking nerd, so of course Bakugo wanted to be better than him in her eyes. Which was ridiculous. Who the fuck cared what Uraraka thought? She must be stupid for admiring Deku in the first place. Obviously she had poor taste.

But still he'd let her talk.

 _Goddammit. I'm losing my edge. All this shit with Deku and All Might is seriously fucking with me. I've got to step up my game again._

He made his way up to the fourth floor and down the hall to his room. Kirishima's door was open and the redhead was laying into the punching bag that sat at the far end of the room. Bakugo didn't plan on stopping, but the punching bag suddenly flew out of the door and slammed into the wall across the hall—directly in front of Bakugo.

"Oy!"

"Sorry!" said Kirishima, running out of the room and rubbing the back his neck. "I guess I forget my own strength sometimes."

Bakugo growled and made to keep walking, but Kirishima stepped in front of him to pick the bag up off the floor.

"But ugh! That Shoji is just so freaking _manly!_ How am I supposed to compete with that?" Kirishima hefted the heavy punching bag over one shoulder like it was nothing and clenched his other fist in front of him. "Ashido wasn't paying _any_ attention to me during our training today because Shoji and Koda were practicing at the same time! Ugh, this jealousy is so unmanly!"

Kirishima was always like that—sickeningly open about his feelings. He'd spout them out to Bakugo at random, even though he had to know that Bakugo didn't give two shits. He was reasonably certain that 'Ashido' was that that pink alien girl and 'Shoji' was either Soy Sauce Face or Mouth-for-Hands.

Bakugo grunted.

"How're things with Uraraka?" Kirishima asked casually as he reentered his room and began re-affixing the punching bag to its stand. "You two come up with anything yet?"

"Like I'd tell you. Besides, I don't need her to win."

Kirishima frowned. "It's not about winning though, man. It's about working with your partner."

" _To obsess over victory the way you do, Young Bakugo," All Might had said. "And to want to rescue those who are in trouble the way you do, Young Midoriya...If you're lacking in one or the other, you won't be able to maintain your own sense of justice as a hero."_

"Uraraka made it pretty clear she valued your lives more than mine," Bakugo snapped. The words were out before he even realized it, damn Kirishima. "She said she told you not to come after me when the League of Villains took me. Not that I needed your help."

Kirishima sat on the edge of his bed, rubbing the back of his neck again and looking at Bakugo, who still stood in the hall. "That's not exactly what she said."

"Tch. I really don't care." He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned towards his own room, but the redhead stood and followed.

"She said you'd see it as a disgrace—being saved by all of us."

Bakugo ignored the slight catch in his step and didn't look back at Kirishima as he said, "Whatever."

He slammed the door behind him without bothering to check if Kirishima was still outside.

 _Oh course I'd fucking see it that way. I told the damn nerd to stay away. It was pretty obvious I didn't want any help._

He slid into his desk and pulled his English textbook toward him, but his eyes glazed over when he tried to focus on the page.

 _Get the fuck out of my head, Angelface._

(Naegi Nobusuke)

Naegi was tall and thin, with pale skin and dark hair that fell into his blue eyes to create just the right amount of mystery and intrigue. He'd earned his hero license only a year before, but had been working with Uwabami during high school in order to break into the music and modeling industry. He was much more interested in that side of his career, but knew that having a hero license would allow him to use his Quirk more freely.

His Quirk, Charm, made it so that as long as someone could see his eyes and hear his voice, he could cause them to have primarily positive emotions toward him. The effect diminished based on the person's pre-existing animosity toward him, so it wasn't always ideal against villains, but it made it incredibly easy to increase his fan base. He still did physical hero training with Uwabami's agency, but it was mostly to maintain his fit body, rather than out of an actual desire to fight.

Just about anyone between the ages of thirteen and thirty knew his name and had heard at least one of his songs, which were an extension of his Quirk. Recordings couldn't hold anywhere near full power, but they carried remnants that could build up if a person listened long enough.

Life couldn't have been more perfect.

Well, it couldn't have been until he'd been bombarded by a series of talk show hosts inquiring as to why he didn't have a girlfriend. There were plenty of candidates, that was certain, but Naegi was unwilling to date anyone who couldn't increase his social standing. He had little interest in actually getting to know someone, which he'd always thought might be a result of his Quirk. It was so easy to get people to like him than he'd never felt he'd known someone who genuinely just liked _him_.

So when his agent, Hamuro Tsutami, had brought him profiles on several up-and-coming stars and heroes. He'd somewhat grudgingly taken a look through them. He'd decided that he would start out not using his Quirk on whoever he picked, and see if maybe someone who was almost becoming famous might not be quite so starstruck by him.

He seriously doubted it.

Ultimately, he'd chosen Uraraka Ochako for several reasons. The first was simple: her appearance appealed him the most. Second, he'd watched her in the Sports Festival. She was strong but not overwhelmingly so. He wanted someone he knew was weaker than him because it would dock some serious reputation points if his girlfriend could beat him in a fight. Third, her Quirk could make for some incredible photo-ops and could definitely add another element to his live shows if she used it on him. And fourth, the world was already falling in love with her, even if she didn't realize. People watched her in the festival and now had their eyes on her as an intern with Ryukyu's agency.

All the pieces were in place. He just had to make his move.


	3. Chapter 3: Steps Forward and Back

Chapter Three: Steps Forward and Back

(Uraraka)

Class 1-A was suited up and gathered in Gym Gamma, breaking off into pairs to spend All Might's class time training in Quirk combos with their designated partners. One pair, however, seemed a bit less concordant than the rest.

"Bakugo, I don't know about this!" Uraraka called to her airborne teammate. The blond soared above her, using Explosion to blast himself toward the targets All Might had set up for them to work with. Uraraka watched from the ground, the small tug in her stomach the only indication that her Quirk was active.

He looked very at home in the air, Uraraka noted. As if he'd been reaching toward something like this with his own Quirk and had finally received the last push he needed. His control was incredible, the minor adjustments he made seemed like second nature. She found the corners of her mouth turning just a bit upward at the sight, knowing her Quirk was the reason this was possible.

"Get behind the damn targets!" he bellowed, correcting his trajectory slightly and barreling toward one of the stuffed mannequins.

Uraraka sighed and sprinted behind them, waiting for Bakugo to get in close and then pressing the pads of her fingers into the back of the one he aimed for. It floated upward just as Bakugo swooped in, landing an explosion square in its chest and sending it flying toward to opposite wall.

Unfortunately, the force of the blast knocked Uraraka down onto her butt and sent Bakugo hurtling backwards. He crashed into a temporary cement wall hard enough to leave a crack and Uraraka released him to the ground.

"Why the hell would you just stand there?" he demanded, stomping over to her and straightening one of his grenadier gauntlets.

"Excuse me for having about _half a second_ between touching the target and you blasting it," she snapped back. Uraraka turned away from him and rubbed her temples. "Chill with the Baku Rage Aura." She paused and thought for a moment as he growled at her. "Maybe _I_ should choose the target. That way I know where I'm going right away, and I can touch it and move, rather than waiting to read your movements and having to react in such a short time."

Bakugo shook his head. "That doesn't work because I'm the one distracting them. If they notice you first, we can't surprise them."

"Again, I seriously doubt we'll be doing much surprising," Uraraka said. She tapped a finger to her cheek, thinking. "What if we use _me_ as the distraction while you fly in from above? I have an instant escape with my Quirk, so it wouldn't be overly dangerous. There's a slim chance that some of our less-than-brilliant classmates won't see it coming a mile away."

"We don't know what they'll expect—"

"Are you really so against any idea but your own? I mean honestly, we know everyone's teams and Quirks, so we can plan ahead. Think about it: what do you think Jiro and Hagakure will do?"

"Who?"

Uraraka rolled her eyes hard enough to hurt. "Earlobes and Uniform, in Baku-speak."

He shot her glare, but said, "I'd use Earlobes's Quirk to send out a sound blast so that Uniform can do whatever she wants undetected."

"Mineta and Kaminari—excuse me, Perv and hmm..Sparky? Buzzbrain?"

Bakugo growled. "Stick an opponent in place with that weird grape shit and then blast the hell out of them with electricity."

"Right. It's not supposed to be really complicated," said Uraraka, scanning the others spread throughout the gym. "All Might said they put complementing Quirks together intentionally. We have to assume everyone will have thought through what we would do. They'll assume that you'll take the lead and be the heavy hitter. They'll probably think you'll take on as much of the responsibility as you can and leave me to play support."

"Don't be fucking stupid—"

"I'm not. When you think about Deku and Yaoyorozu, who do you think will take which role? Or Tsuyu and Todoroki? Even Mina and Kirishima? Don't tell me you don't automatically assume the guy is going to take point. It's a stigma, but maybe one we could use to our advantage."

"You actually think everyone sees it that way?"

Uraraka looked at him incredulously. " _Yes_." Though his forehead was creased in a way that just screamed Rage Aura, he seemed to be sincere in his confusion. "You know what people told me after the Sport's Festival? They said that I 'did well _for a girl_ ' and that you 'were way too harsh _on a girl._ '" She overemphasized her air quotes. "That's why...that's why I appreciated it so much that you didn't go easy on me."

"Like hell I'd go easy on you."

It warmed her a bit, to know that his opinion of her hadn't changed even though he'd beaten her. "Exactly, so let's stop going easy on everyone else and actually put some real thought into this assignment."

"Whatever, round face."

"That's better," Uraraka grinned. So much better than 'fuckstick.'

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

(Bakugo)

She was impossible. The bitch was fucking impossible.

It was different than with Kirishima, who simply didn't have it in him to be negative. Uraraka somehow just remained utterly unfazed by his...what did she call it? 'Baku Rage Aura.'

His eye twitched.

She'd turned the conversation in her favor at every step. Perhaps, he mused, because she was actually right and he was being an arrogant fuckwad, but that was beside the point. She'd seemed unperturbed by his glares and growls and yelling. He hadn't actually threatened her yet, but he doubted that would make a difference. She could just...see a little deeper than anyone else, except maybe dumbass Kirishima. He didn't know what it was exactly that she saw, but she wasn't afraid of it.

It pissed him the fuck off.

He'd felt himself slipping since All Might's retirement. His 'Baku Rage Aura' wasn't quite as sincere as it used to be, even with Deku. All Might had said none of what had happened was Bakugo's fault, but there was a part of him that was never truly going to believe that.

The League of Villains had a picture of him from the Sports Festival, from after he'd flipped his shit when the Half-and-Half bastard checked the fuck out of their fight and refused to go all out against him. They'd had to restrain Bakugo just to give him that damn medal that he didn't want or earn, but it wasn't until seeing that picture in one of the many hands of that League leader that he saw himself the way others might—kind of like a villain.

If he hadn't been like that, the League would've never had a reason to take him, and All Might wouldn't have—

Bakugo ran a frustrated hand through his hair and turned back to Uraraka, who was still talking strategy.

"—and we don't know the exact nature of the test. It's a battle royale, but how do you win or lose? Will it be like the final where we have to handcuff each other? Or will it be more like the provisional license exam with the targets and balls? That'll also make a difference in how we play it."

She was floating, but sitting cross-legged in the air, the timer around her neck a steady beat behind her words.

"Oh! I've got an idea!" She held a hand down to touch Bakugo. He allowed it and soon they were both hovering over the cement floor. The weightlessness was...pretty damn incredible, like being underwater with nothing but air pressing in around him. He'd worked hard to get his Quirk to a point where it could propel him through the air, but it required constant concentration and movement, but this...this was how flying was supposed to be.

But of course he wouldn't tell her that. "Spit it out already."

"I want you to throw me."

"What?"

"Throw me at one of the targets!" She pointed down towards them. "If I release my Quirk just as you let go, it should give me enough momentum to bring down the target or one of our classmates."

"Okay."

"Wait seriously?"

"I'm serious if you are, Airhead, so make up your damn mind!"

"I am, I am!" She held up her hands in front of her and waved them back and forth. "I just didn't expect you to agree so quickly."

"I prefer the bat-shit-fucking-crazy plans."

Leaving her no time to comment, he clasped her forearm and used his Quirk to spin in a tight circle and swing her around, using what little anti-gravity momentum he could gain to fling her at the back of one of the targets.

"Release!" she yelled as he let go, and she flew feet-first into the mannequin. Her boots slammed into its back, sending it crashing forward—Uraraka along with it. "Whoa!"

She stumbled forward several steps and threw out her hands to stop her fall. She rolled and reactivated her Quirk on herself to steady out her balance. It wasn't the picture of grace, but the mannequin was down.

"Who's crazy now?" she grinned, floating several feet away from him and pumping her fists in front of her victoriously. Her gloves were slightly ripped from her fall, but the scrapes on her hands didn't seem to bother her. "I doubt anyone will see that one coming! I just have to make sure to get my hands on them, so I can hit them hard and then put them in the air."

"You need to reactivate your Quirk as soon as you land the hit," Bakugo said, not bothering to tell her that it was a pretty good fucking plan on her part. At least in that no one would see it coming. "Take them out and get back in the air fucking _fast._ It won't matter if you take out one if three more are on you right away."

Uraraka nodded. "You're right. The only people who have a chance at reaching us in the air are Tokoyami with Dark Shadow, Todoroki if he can get his ice high enough...Sero could probably pull us down...I wonder if use my Quirk on his tape if it'll float him too…Kaminari will probably be the most dangerous. He'll have a clear shot at us without having to worry about hitting his partner..."

She started mumbling to herself, a habit she no doubt picked up from that damn nerd.

"Oy, shut up already! Let's do it again, and fucking get it _right_ this time!"

The second time, Bakugo's aim wasn't as good, and she ended up slamming her whole body into a mannequin's side, knocking her mouth on its shoulder and spitting out blood. He crossed his arms and waited, and within seconds she'd shaken it off and jumped back into the air.

The third attempt was their most successful yet. She went at it feet-first again and got her fingers on its back, sending it into the air after the blow and using the force of her landing to push up and off it. She floated back next to Bakugo, her face bright with exhilaration.

"Yes! That was good, huh?" But she wasn't really talking to him. Bakugo watched her eyes slide past his face and over his shoulder, to where the nerd and whoever the fuck his partner was were practicing.

"What the fuck are you looking at, Angelface? _Deku_? Why the fuck do you need him to tell you you're good enough?"

Her face turned a brilliant shade of red. "It's not that—"

"Yeah fucking _right_. You realize you nearly crushed me in a fucking _meteor shower_ when we fought, don't you? Who's godsdamned approval do you need after pulling a stunt like that?"

"It didn't work, though," she said, deflating a bit.

"It was ballsier than anything anyone else did. I didn't go easy on you because I fucking _couldn't._ If you hadn't gone and collapsed like a damn wuss, you might've had a shot at winning. You want me to have faith in you? Have some faith in your damn self."

He fumed for a beat as she processed what he said, then he reached out to grip her forearm again. "So are we going again or not, Uraraka?"

The determined glint in her eye was all the answer he needed.

(Uraraka)

The free falls were breathtaking, exhilarating. The crash landings...were not. Uraraka was proud to admit that she did it mostly right more often than she did it mostly wrong, but she knew she'd be sore in the morning. They'd added to the move, having Bakugo blast himself toward Uraraka right after throwing her so he could either take out a second opponent or play defense against the target she put in the air. They decided to assume it was like the final exams at U.A., and they would have to handcuff an opponent to put them out of the fight. This worked well with their move, as long as Uraraka was fast enough.

All Might called for a break and Uraraka joined the rest of the class in the center of the gym, where the teacher handed out waters and checked in with the groups.

"Uraraka!" called Deku, appearing at her side before she had time to mentally prepare. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Did Bakugo do that to you?" said Kaminari, coming to stand on her other side with a worried look on his face. "Do we need to talk to him?"

"Huh?" Uraraka asked dumbly, then thought about how she must look—scrapes, cuts, fresh bruises, and blood crusted around her bottom lip, for starters. "Oh! No no no, it's not what you think. I can't tell you, of course, it would ruin the fun, but we've been having a hard time getting one of our moves down."

Iida and Mina had appeared too, and Iida's eyebrows scrunched together as he looked from Uraraka to Bakugo. "Bakugo appears unharmed, yet you've sustained so much damage. Are you certain he has not been unnecessarily cruel?"

"I'm _certain._ Really. It was my idea anyway. Besides, what kind of hero will I be if I can't take a couple of hits?"

"So he did hit you?"

"No! Gods, no. It's fine guys. Stop worrying so much, okay?"

Her friends didn't look convinced.

"You'll let us know if it does get out of hand though, won't you, Uraraka?" Deku asked, his green eyes meeting hers and causing her stomach to twist in a way that had nothing to do with over-using her Quirk.

She gulped and nodded, her cheeks heating.

Uraraka nearly groaned at the way her heart skipped several beats when Deku smiled at her. She looked around, anywhere but at him, hoping to distract herself. She noticed All Might had been pulled aside by President Nezu, and the two were having a whispered conversation out of earshot of the class. After a moment of deliberation, All Might cleared his throat and called, "Young Uraraka, there is someone here to see you! President Nezu requests you return with him to his office."

"But what about practice…?" she asked, even as her curiosity spiked. She hoped it was nothing bad. What if something had happened to her parents?

"I'm afraid you will have to cut your time with Young Bakugo short for today. If you'd like, I'd be happy to arrange an after class session for you two to use the gym."

"Oh, sure, that would be good. Um, I guess just let me know when." She shot Bakugo an apologetic glance, but he rolled his eyes and ignored her.

The brunette followed Nezu out of Gym Gamma and back to the main school building, where he led her up a few flights of stairs and stopped in front of his office.

Her nerves were fraying just a bit as she went through everything that could have possibly gone wrong. One of her parents could be sick, or they'd been in an accident, or they hadn't been able to pay rent one too many times and had been evicted... Uraraka shook herself, trying to steady her shaking hands as the president smiled up at her.

"This is a bit...different than what you might be expecting," he said in his pleasantly high-pitched voice. "I'll leave the two of you alone for a bit."

Perplexed, Uraraka pushed the door open. Inside, there was a large desk in front of a window that overlooked the campus, two love seats facing each other with a tea table in between, and shelves upon shelves of books. Standing among them was a woman. She was thin and plump in all the right places, with perfectly curled blue-black hair, upturned grey eyes, and a thick coat of blood red lipstick gleaming on her wide mouth. Her attire was professional, though a bit short and tight.

"Uraraka! I'm so pleased to meet you!" She reached out a hand tipped with manicured nails expectantly.

Uraraka took it and shook hesitantly. "Um...am I missing something?"

"Of course, of course," said the woman, waving Uraraka toward the couches. "I'm Hamuro Tsutami, manager for Naegi Nobusuke."

Uraraka blinked. Naegi Nobusuke...she'd definitely heard that name before. Hamuro was giving her an expectant smile, and Uraraka wracked her brain. "He sings that _Take My Breath Away_ song, right?"

"Among others."

"Okay…" Uraraka was confused as to how she ended up here: in the U.A. president's office speaking to agent of an international popstar.

"Forgive me," said Hamuro, but Uraraka was getting the impression that she was enjoying keeping her in the dark. "I should explain."

"Yes, please."

"As Naegi's fame grows, he's found it harder and harder to...relate to people. Everyone is so starstruck by him that they can't treat him like a normal person. So we decided we would try to introduce him to another up-and-coming star, perhaps someone who doesn't care so much about fame."

"I don't understand…"

"You're that person, Uraraka."

"Sorry, what?"

"How you would like to go on a date with Naegi Nobusuke?"

"Er…"

Hamuro was grinning ear to ear, as if she were giving Uraraka the opportunity of a lifetime, but honestly, it was all more confusing than anything. Upcoming star? Her?

"I don't think I'm who you think I am. Famous? Not me, nope," Uraraka started mumbling a string of reasons as to why she was not the right choice, but Hamuro cut her off.

"We've got a bit of a story planned for the two of you, you know, for better publicity. It would involve us giving your parents' construction company a very, very big job."

Uraraka swallowed hard.

"J-job?"

"The biggest of their life. They'd be able to rest easy for some time."

Uraraka nodded. "What do I have to do?"

(Bakugo)

He'd turned the AC down as far as it would go and holed up at the desk in his room, fully ready for several hours of uninterrupted homework and study. A knock on his door made his palms sweat as he growled something unintelligible at whoever dared to disturb him.

"Hey, man." Kirishima peaked around the door without actually entering the room.

"What do you want, hair-for-brains?"

Kirishima cleared his throat, his Quirk visibly hardening over the front of his body when Bakugo cared to glance his way. This wasn't going to be good.

"I...well...I just wanted to make sure that you weren't going to hard on Uraraka earlier...she looked pretty beat up and I know you have faith in her and everything, but she's a girl, you know?"

Bakugo's pen snapped in half in his hand and his voice was a dark rumble in his chest as he said, "I didn't do anything she couldn't handle. I didn't do anything she didn't ask for. Being a girl hasn't got shit to do with it. I said it once before—there's nothing fragile about her."

Kirishima held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. I just wanted to make sure. People talk, you know?"

"Who the hell cares what any of these fucknuts say?"

"I know you don't want to hear this, man, but...reputation matters, especially to heroes. You should just...be careful sometimes how other people perceive you."

Bakugo merely growled, which Kirishima took as his cue to leave.

He couldn't wrap his head around it. He genuinely couldn't figure out how everyone still saw this girl who'd put him through the fucking _ringer_ at the Sports Festival as someone so damn breakable. He hadn't been lying when he told her he couldn't go easy on her back then. Fuck whether he wanted to or not (though of course he fucking didn't), she hadn't given him a chance to even think about it before she'd run fucking circles around him, using his own fucking Quirk against him in more ways than one.

It was bat-shit-fucking-crazy and he'd loved every minute of it. Compared to every other shitty ass fight he'd endured during that stupid festival, it was easily the highlight. She'd phased in and out of a smokescreen touching every bit of rock she could reach without being able fucking see. She'd literally tried to turn him to rubble and almost succeeded.

 _Fragile my motherfucking ass.  
_  
If it hadn't been for her damned weight limit, she really might've won. She was smarter than him in that fight, instantly getting the upper hand and keeping it. He'd only scraped out a victory by paying godsdamned close attention and forcing his already good reflexes into peak form. One slip up, one second too slow, and she would've had him. It was the most on-his-toes he'd had to be since starting at U.A.

He hadn't batted an eye when she'd suggested him chucking her headlong into combat. Hell, he'd spent most of the training session trying to figure out a way to give her a burst from his Quirk without blowing her fucking arm off. She had good enough judgment to be in the thick of things, and pulling off something unexpected like that could give them an edge.

And then she'd run off right when they were starting to figure it out to do god knows what for half the fucking day, and—

Damn it all. He pinched the bridge of his nose and flipped open his textbook.

He had better things to do than think about Ura-fucking-raka for the second night in a row.

Didn't he?

* * *

A/N: Reviews are Bakugo maybe sort of kinda starting to somewhat figure out that he possibly has feelings. And please let me know if ever you see any typos! I'm sure there are some that I've missed in the editing process because I've read through it a million times.


	4. Chapter 4: Noticing

Chapter Four: Noticing

(Earlier that day, Uraraka)

The sun was bright overhead, but the breeze was cool as Uraraka followed Hamuro off the U.A. campus to an expensive-looking black car parked just outside. Aizawa insisted that Midnight accompany them, as everyone was still on edge after Bakugo's kidnapping. The older woman walked serenely at Uraraka's side, a small smile playing across her sumptuous mouth. Hamuro ushered them into the back seat and took the passenger side herself, nodding to the stoic-looking driver that they were ready to go.

 _What am I even doing?_ Uraraka thought as the car pulled out onto the road, classical music played softly from the speakers above her head. She'd agreed to a date with Naegi Nobusuke, a popstar who was interested in her because of the recent publicity she'd earned as an intern with the Ryukyu Hero Agency. Uraraka fidgeted with her fingers, ignoring the urge to touch the still-tender areas of her face as Recovery Girl's healing set in. Hamuro had insisted on a visit with the nurse before leaving campus. A black eye and a bloody lip weren't good for first impressions.

The only reason she'd said yes to meeting with Naegi was because it meant a big job for her parents, who had been out of work for too long. Hamuro had been vague in the details, but it was something about "playing up a story for publicity." They couldn't just go on a date, they had to make it a scene for the public eye.

Only famous people had to even think about stuff like that.

Maybe, _maybe_ it would be good though. Her feelings for Deku were getting in the way of everything at school. She wanted to be his friend and work with him, but she found her thundering heart and tied tongue counter-intuitive to both. He was just so _driven_. He would do anything to become stronger, to be the number one hero, and how could she not admire that? How could she not want to be like him?

Which, she supposed, wasn't really the same thing as... _liking_ him.

Uraraka had never had a crush before. In middle school, she'd been too busy training and studying to get into U.A. But now that she was here, shouldn't she be spending her time working even harder to become the best hero she could be? Instead, she often found her thoughts drifting to _What would Deku do?_ Or _Would Deku think this is a good idea?_ Or even _Does he feel as flustered as I do when we talk?_

Bakugo had called her out on it in practice, and Uraraka couldn't have been more embarrassed that even he, who barely paid enough attention to learn his own classmates' names, would notice the way she inadvertently looked to Deku for approval, even when he wasn't around.

" _Why the fuck do you need him to tell you you're good enough? You realize you nearly crushed me in a fucking meteor shower when we fought, don't you? Who's godsdamned approval do you need after pulling a stunt like that?"_

But was it only that she admired Deku? Uraraka didn't think so. She couldn't attribute the fluttering in her stomach _only_ to that. Maybe meeting with Naegi Nobusuke would get Deku off her mind. Maybe this was exactly what she needed.

It was still a distraction though. Still something that took her mind off hero training.

But if her parents were getting a job out of it...that was the whole point of everything anyway, wasn't it?

Midnight must've seen the war waging across Uraraka's face, because she put an arm around the younger girl's shoulders and pulled her into her side.

"Nervous?" asked the pro hero.

Uraraka found herself nodding.

"It's okay. Everyone gets nervous for a first date. Or meeting. Or whatever this is going to be. Want some advice?"

Uraraka nodded again.

"It's cliché, sweet thing, but just be yourself. You don't want to waste your time on someone who can't see how awesome you are."

She didn't feel particularly awesome, but nodded a third time.

"I just don't get though," said Uraraka. "Why me?"

The corner of Midnight's mouth quirked up in a smile. "Uraraka, sweetie, you're incredible! Every time I see you fight you're better than you were before. You're cute and kind and what guy _wouldn't_ want you? You're a first year and you got an internship with a pro! That doesn't happen every day."

Uraraka's cheeks heated and she turned to stare out the window. In spite of Midnight's praise, there was a part of her that couldn't help but wonder, _What if Naegi doesn't like me?_

She shook herself. It didn't matter. Midnight was right, if he didn't like her, then she didn't need him.

But he'd gone to all this trouble...and him liking her meant her parents not having to worry about paying rent. Maybe they could even make enough to build their own house like they wanted…

She steeled herself. Naegi _had_ to like her. She'd be on top of her game for her parents' sake. And if she didn't like him...well, she'd cross that bridge when she got there.

They pulled up to a building even bigger than Ryukyu's skyscraper, and Uraraka's eyes went wide as they traveled up its gleaming glass exterior.

Hamuro and Midnight both seemed unfazed by the sheer size of the thing, and the former led them through the sliding front doors and into a bright, wide lobby that could have held the Urarakas' apartment three times over. They took an elevator up to one of the top floors.

"This whole floor belongs to Naegi," Hamuro explained. "It houses our offices and recording studios."

Uraraka's jaw dropped as the elevator doors opened to reveal a large area similar to the common area in the U.A. dorms. There were couches, tvs, a kitchen, a ping pong table, and what looked to be a very expensive sound system. The east and west walls were made entirely of windows, giving those within a breathtaking view of the city stretched out below them.

"Make yourselves comfortable," said Hamuro. "This is going to be an off-the-record meeting, so to speak, just so that you and Naegi can get a feel for each other. We've got a stellar public meeting planned for the two of you that we'll explain later."

She gave them her sparkling grin and walked off toward one of the doors along the north wall.

Midnight sat back on a couch, but Uraraka perched on the edge of it, unable to relax.

"Aizawa will be pleased to know this wasn't some convoluted plot by the League," said Midnight.

Uraraka swallowed. She hadn't considered that possibility. From what she'd seen of the League of Villains, this wasn't really their style, but then again, thinking like that could get her in serious trouble.

The door across the way opened and Hamuro reemerged with a teenager who could only be Naegi Nobusuke.

He was _very_ good looking.

Taller even than Iida, with dark hair that fell into his ocean eyes and a half-smile that revealed shining white teeth, Naegi looked like something out of a dream. He wore dress pants and a button-up white shirt with a blue tie hanging lazily down the front.

Hi eyes met hers and his smile widened a bit. Uraraka felt her face heat up.

"Uraraka," he said, walking forward and tipping his head to her. His voice was so smooth, like a caress to her ears. "I've heard so much about you."

Unsure of what to do with her body, Uraraka stood and clasped her hands behind her back. "Yeah, um...you too."

He chuckled, a low melody that danced out of his chest. "This is kind of awkward, huh?"

"Gods, yes." She let out a sigh of relief that she wasn't the only one feeling it.

He nodded his head in the direction of the bar that separated the kitchen area from the rest of the room.. "Come on, let's talk a bit, yeah?"

She followed him, leaving Midnight and Hamuro to speak among themselves.

Naegi pulled one of the stools out for Uraraka and then walked around the other side of the bar. He took two sodas from the fridge and came back to sit beside her.

"I guess you know, but I'm Naegi," he said, chuckling again. "And just so you know, this wasn't my idea. I mean, I picked _you_...but the whole 'choosing a famous girlfriend' thing, that wasn't me."

"Honestly, I was shocked you considered me to be famous enough," Uraraka said, giving a small laugh herself.

"You're on the rise. I've seen you in the news and watched you at the U.A. Sports Festival. And Hamuro thinks that this could give us both a boost, which never hurts for someone who wants to get in with a big hero agency after school."

"True. Midnight and Ryukyu are always talking about how much reputation matters to a pro. You have a license, right?"

Naegi nodded. "I actually graduated from U.A. myself. A year early and everything, but I was always more interested in entertaining." He ruffled his hair. "Of course I'll jump in if a need presents itself, or if one of the other agencies asks for my help, but it's not what I want to do full time."

"Well it seems you're very successful."

Naegi laughed. "Indeed. I was...very blessed when it came to my talents."

"What's your Quirk? Um, if you don't mind me asking I mean!" Uraraka said, holding up her hands quickly. "I know that's kind of a personal question. You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"Theoretically, we're supposed to be getting to know each other kind of personally, aren't we?" He smiled. "I'll tell you, but just know that I can turn it on and off, and I'm not using it on you right now, and I don't plan to. So please don't get the wrong idea."

"Er...okay."

"It's called Charm. Basically I can make people like me just by making eye contact and talking to them. I could literally tell someone that I hated them and they would still like me if I was using my Quirk as I said it. It makes it easy to talk people into doing things too. It's really good for throwing villains off their guard...or for gaining lots of fans really quickly."

"Wow, that sounds really strong!"

"It is, but it makes it difficult to get close to people. Everyone always thinks I'm using it on them."

Uraraka frowned, fidgeting with the tab on her soda can. That sounded rather lonely.

"So what do we think?" asked Hamuro, walking up to the pair and clapping her hands together. "Are we giving this thing a shot?"

"No complaints on my end," Naegi said, giving Uraraka a smile. "But it's up to the lovely lady here."

 _That wasn't much time to get to know him,_ Uraraka thought. _But he seems...sweet, and maybe a little sad...and that job for my parents…_

"I don't see why not," she said.

"Great!" Hamuro clapped again. "Then let me tell you what we've got in store for your public meeting. We're thinking about doing it Wednesday afternoon…"

(The night, Bakugo)

Kirishima's interruption had thrown off his studying, and Bakugo decided to head down to the kitchen and get something to eat and reset.

He'd always enjoyed cooking. Chopping vegetables was a good tension reliever, and it was something he could focus on and take his mind off everything else. He enjoyed the idea of mixing all this random shit together and creating something really good (though, it wasn't always good). He liked to experiment, most of the time, but he wasn't in the mood for anything too complicated, so he set about making a simple veggie wrap. He was right in the middle of slicing a tomato when Midnight dropped Uraraka off at the dorm.

She looked a damn sight better than she had when she'd left All Might's class—she must've been to see Recovery Girl at some point during the day. There was a vague sort of expression on her face, as if she'd only brought half her mind back with her. The other half was drifting somewhere Bakugo didn't want to imagine.

He almost, _almost_ , asked her where she'd been all day, but stopped himself.

 _You don't give a fuck, moron, why would you ask?_

He shook himself, fully committed to ignoring her presence entirely, but of course, _of course_ , she had to say something.

"Sorry for bailing on you earlier." She put a hand behind her head and grinned sheepishly. Awareness slowly flickered back to her eyes as she observed his perfectly cut produce.

"Hell if I care, round face," he said, barely glancing at her before going back to his tomato. "Just don't fucking fall behind. I'm not failing this assignment just because you apparently have better shit to do."

It wasn't a direct question at least.

Not that he cared.

"Oh...uh, yeah." Her cheeks turned a brighter shade of pink. "It was just internship stuff, you know."

Bakugo grunted in response, not buying her lie, but not wanting to ask.

Instead of going up to her room, Uraraka slid into the stool across from his place behind the counter. Bakugo's eye twitched.

"So did I miss anything?"

"Tch." The nerve of this girl.

"There's no point in being like that," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. " _You_ don't want to get behind so it's to _your_ benefit to tell me anything important."

"It's _not_ to my benefit to reward my partner's flippant behavior.."

"Okay, Aizawa Sensei, jeez."

She looked away, a frown making a small crease in her forehead.

 _Serves her right. She can't just fucking leave._

 _But what if it was something really important?_ The annoying voice in his head chimed in, as it always did, when he didn't want to fucking hear it.

 _Tch. I doubt it. If it was for her internship, Froggy would've been called out too, and if something happened to a relative, she wouldn't be in such a good mood._

 _You could give her the benefit of the doubt…_

 _Like hell._

"All right, well," said Uraraka, standing and stretching. "It's been a long day, so I guess I'll be heading upstairs." She yawned and drew the timer out from underneath her shirt. "I passed two minutes during our practice today, you know. I think I'll get a few rounds in before bed."

Without a look back, she headed toward the stairwell.

 _At least tell her about extra practice._

Bakugo rolled his eyes. "Oy, round face!"

She turned back and looked at him expectantly, one eyebrow tilted upward, an amused smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Tomorrow. Gym Gamma. After classes let out."

"Great! I'll be there."

The full smile she gave him was too fucking bright, it made his stomach hurt.

Or at least, that was the only thing he could attribute the twisting in his gut to—someone being stupidly happy.

It had nothing to do with it being Uraraka specifically.

He started slicing his vegetables more violently. This was fucking stupid. He shouldn't have to tell himself that he didn't care. Uraraka had nothing to do with his plans to become the number one hero. He didn't care about her or anyone else because he had more important shit to worry about and that was that.

 _So why are you having such a hard time convincing yourself that it's true?_

 _Shut up._

It was probably just the fact that she had such an obvious crush on Deku and Bakugo wanted to prove to her that she was an idiot. He wanted to take something away from Deku, who had suddenly taken so much away from him.

It was the only logical explanation.

Bakugo ran a hand through his hair in frustration and slammed his knife down beside the cutting board. When did he start wanting everything that Deku had, rather than the other way around? Just because All Might chose the nerd didn't mean Deku would automatically be better than him. It didn't really even give Deku a head start, but just sort of...evened the playing field. Bakugo simply wasn't used to it and so his brain was overreacting.

It was the _only_ logical explanation.

(Uraraka)

The nausea set in at a minute and forty-eight seconds, beginning as a _twinge_ in the pit of her stomach and creeping its way through her chest and into her throat as the timer ticked on. Uraraka took a deep breath, then another, letting the sickening sensation wash over her but not overtake her.

 _2:01...2:02...2:03...2:04...2:05…_

She smiled to herself, trying not to focus _too_ much on the time. It was better to be distracted from the task at hand.

She let her thoughts drift to Naegi and the "story" Hamuro had told them that afternoon. Uraraka wasn't thrilled with the idea of staging an attack and letting him save her, but he _was_ a pro and she was a first year, so it wasn't totally ridiculous. And, she supposed, people would see that as romantic, which was the point of all of it—to get them in the spotlight.

It worried her a bit, what other people would think—what her friends would think. Would they believe that she actually needed saving? After everything they'd already been through?

 _What happened? Are you okay? Did Bakugo do this to you? Do we need to talk to him?_

Uraraka frowned as her friends' voices flashed through her mind from earlier that day. They'd been so worried after seeing her a little beat up from training.

As if she would _let_ Bakugo hurt her without retaliation. As if, if he had tried something, she wouldn't have fought back.

Maybe they _would_ believe that Naegi needed to save her after all.

 _I didn't go easy on you because I fucking couldn't. Have some faith in your damn self._

Bakugo's voice clanged through her head then, full of fire and fury. He hadn't hesitated, not for a second, when she'd told him her plan earlier. He hadn't worried about hurting her. He hadn't worried about her not being able to handle the impact or take down the opponent. He'd just went with what she said and didn't seem surprised when it worked. Part of it, probably, was his complete lack of regard for anyone else, but he didn't have to say those things. He didn't have to admit that she could've beaten him.

What would Bakugo think about the situation with Naegi?

Would he even care?

Would _she_ care if he didn't?

The nausea overwhelmed her as her mind rejected that train of thought, and Uraraka dropped down onto her bed, clicked the timer off, and rushed to the bathroom connected to her bedroom. Fortunately, her stomach had been in too many knots from her meeting with Naegi to want to eat dinner, so there wasn't much to heave up. She leaned against the edge of the toilet, which she'd cleaned prior to her practice in preparation for this.

 _Just breathe, Ochako. Breathe._

The queasiness eased to a dull rumble and Uraraka glanced at the timer around her neck.

 _3:52._

Her eyes widened and she stared at it—it was almost double her best time from the day before, almost double her best time _ever_. Had practicing with Bakugo really made such a difference? Had she distracted herself so entirely that she'd forgotten to be sick?

She rushed back into her room and picked up her phone to text her friends the good news, but as she flipped it open, it buzzed with an incoming message from an unfamiliar number.

 _I know I'm not supposed to text you until we officially 'meet,' but I just wanted you to know that I've been thinking about you all day. It was so nice to meet someone so honest and real. Sweet dreams, princess. Can't wait for Wednesday! -Naegi_

In spite of herself, Uraraka smiled.

(The Next Day, Bakugo)

He didn't go to breakfast that morning.

Since moving into the dorms, Class 1-A had developed a system for who would make make the first meal of the day for the rest of the class. If his calculations were correct, this morning it would be Uraraka and Deku.

Bakugo didn't agonize over his own emotions. He didn't pick things apart or wonder too much over what to do. If he was angry, he yelled. That was the way of things. But wanting what Deku had...that thought kept coming back to him in the night. He'd be nearly asleep and then it would creep to the forefront of his mind, prodding and poking and begging for attention. He'd mulled over it late into the night, but had considered what All Might would say, if Bakugo told him how he felt like he wanted to take away what Deku had.

"Taking from others will never make you stronger," the version of All Might in his imagination said. "It might weaken those you take from, but heroes should build each other up, not tear each other down. Making Deku unhappy isn't going to make your life any easier."

Tch.

He wished his impression wasn't quite so spot on.

Ultimately though, Bakugo decided that caring about what Uraraka did in regard to Deku only made _him_ weak. He didn't want to waste his time wondering what she saw in the nerd. He didn't want to waste his time wondering about her at all.

So he didn't go to breakfast so he wouldn't have to see them interact first thing in the morning. So he wouldn't have to see the stupid awkward shit they did when they were around each other.

He didn't want to be jealous of that damn nerd, not for anything. It made him sick to his stomach to think that being jealous of Deku was even within the realm of possibility, but here he was. He almost wished he hadn't put the pieces together after All Might defeated All for One. He almost wished he hadn't asked about it at all. But now he knew that Deku was the heir to All Might's incredible power, and it gnawed at Bakugo even after everything. Even after All Might told him that he didn't need the power because he'd long stood in the arena of heroes.

But a gift so freely given didn't warrant the hero-worship Uraraka and others in their class seemed to give Deku. Even some of the teachers treated the nerd like he was the greatest thing to ever grace them with his presence.

And Uraraka couldn't make a damned choice on her own without looking to see if Deku fucking approved.

Idiot.

It would be best to avoid both of them as much as he could for the time being. If he couldn't see or hear them, they wouldn't be on his mind so much.

Theoretically.

Except, of course, that he had to spend an entire fucking class period speaking to no one but Uraraka. _And_ he'd agreed to extra practice with her after school.

Shit.

He'd decided that he only noticed her as something more than bland extra because of her interest in Deku, but he knew that wasn't the case, not really. She was like Half-and-Half, a worthy opponent, someone he could respect on and off the battlefield. She had a quieter sort of ferocity than Icy Hot, a slow burn you didn't feel until you were boiling. And it pissed him off that she could be that strong and still think Deku knew better. But more than that...there was something... _else_ about her. Something that plucked at his awareness when they were in the same room. Something that drew his eyes to her more frequently than his other classmates. Something that caused him to actually _enjoy_ it when she talked to him, even though he'd never do anything but pretend she pissed him off.

Was it _really_ only because she was interested in Deku that he noticed her this way?

He certainly hoped so.

Otherwise, he was totally and utterly _fucked._

(Uraraka)

It was working.

Sort of.

Making breakfast with Deku was something she always looked forward to, but since deciding that she didn't want to burden him with her feelings, she'd struggled with treating him completely platonically.

So, that morning, whenever she looked at Deku, she brought up a picture of Naegi in the back of her mind. He was undoubtedly better looking than Deku, and not that Uraraka was quite that shallow, but it helped her mind wander away from her classmate and in the direction of the singer. She reread his text from the night before several times throughout the morning as well, telling herself that she deserved someone who thought about her so often. Deku, for all his observational skills, had completely missed her feelings for him. Naegi had noticed right away that she'd felt awkward and had done everything to make her more comfortable.

Yes. This was helping.

"You okay, Uraraka?" Deku asked, a look of intense concentration on his face as he tried, and failed, to flip a pancake. "You seem kind of out of it this morning."

"Oh, I'm fine! Just lost in thought I guess."

It was strange, how long she'd wanted nothing more than to spend time with Deku alone, but now it all felt a bit...anticlimactic.

Maybe her crush really had been based in hero worship. He _had_ saved her butt during the entrance exam.

It didn't stop a blush from creeping across her face when their hands brushed each other as they reached for the utensil drawer at the same time.

Why did everything have to be so confusing?

Iida appeared then, dressed and ready for the day. He sat his books on the counter and sniffed, a small frown on his face.

"Is something burning?"

Uraraka looked to the pancake Deku was still trying to flip. It was smoking.

"It just looks so _cool_ the way Kaminari can flip them without a spatula!" Deku explained, wiggling the pan. "He just takes the pan and jerks it like…"

Deku attempted to demonstrate, but instead of flipping the pancake, it flew up and hit the ceiling with a _splat_. It slowly fell back to the ground in pieces and Deku grinned sheepishly at his friends.

"Maybe we should switch," Uraraka suggested, handing Deku the knife she'd been using to cut up fruit. It irked her that she wasn't able to slice tomatoes quite as perfectly as Bakugo. "The rest of the class should be waking up soon and we don't have a single pancake ready."

The rest of the class indeed began to trickle in, though Uraraka noted that Bakugo was strangely absent. Odd. He usually didn't miss a chance to eat, no matter how many times he'd told his classmates that their cooking "tasted like ass."

She brushed the thought aside, deciding that he was simply in one of his moods and hoped he wouldn't be in a total rage by the time they got to All Might's class.

"Is Kacchan not coming?" Deku asked Kirishima. Naturally, Deku was the only one to really care enough to ask.

Kirishima glanced back and forth between Uraraka and Deku, opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it with a shrug.

"I try to avoid him in the mornings. He's more...unpleasant than normal."

Uraraka laughed. "Yeesh, that's saying something."

"Tell me about it," said Kirishima, but he was smiling as he shoveled food onto his plate. "Give him hell for us in All Might's class today, yeah Uraraka?"

 _Have some faith in your damn self._

"You bet! Bakugo won't know what hit him."

* * *

A/N: Lots of inner monologue and thought-processing in this one. Don't worry, next chapter will have PLENTY of action. Thank you so much to those who reviewed/favorited/followed!

 **UPDATE:** I've edited the previous chapters for typos and clarity. PLEASE point things out to me if you notice them—typos, sentences that aren't clear, anything! I want this story to be as good as it can be and you are crucial to that goal! I can only read this the way I intend it to be read, so I can't see it from the other side. Your feedback is everything!

Much love, please review!


	5. Chapter 5: Spark

**A/N:** This chapter contains the meeting prior to the mission to rescue Eri. The meeting is shown directly in the manga, so I've tried to paraphrase and condense it as much as possible. I need it to be in the story, but I didn't want to just copy and paste. It sets a tone, so I didn't want to skip it. Hope you don't mind!

Also, I use "Lord Explosion Murder" (anime) instead of "King of Explodo-Kills" (manga) just because I prefer the sound of it. I think "Lord Explosion Murder" is even more over the top and I love it. Just in case anyone was wondering.

* * *

Chapter Five: Spark

(Bakugo)

Uraraka's method was indisputably cleaner than Bakugo's, he noted, floating in the air above her while she mimed taking out the dummies hand-to-hand and then sending them up to him, where he tied them together like balloons. Not that he _preferred_ her way, but it was certainly easier to see without the great dust clouds his Quirk usually created.

Though it kept him from the thick of the action, Bakugo thought this plan might be their best bet if the point of the battle royals exam turned out to be something like handcuffing opponents. Just like with their throwing maneuver, using Uraraka on the ground as the first line of offense was the last thing anyone would expect, especially after how they all freaked the fuck out yesterday over a few cuts and bruises. _And_ until the support department upgraded Uraraka's suit, Bakugo had the most control in the air. He had vision on Uraraka from every angle—no one would be able to sneak up on her without him blasting himself full-tilt into the fight.

"I think we've got that bit down," Uraraka said, floating up toward him and poking one of the weightless dummies. "What now?"

Bakugo rolled his neck and cracked his knuckles, ready for a part in the action. "We become a fucking _deadfall_."

"Sounds...dangerous," said Uraraka. "Explain."

Without doing so, Bakugo grabbed her wrist and slung her around onto his back. "Hang on." She wrapped her arms around his neck, and Bakugo told himself the backflip his heart performed was due to the adrenaline pumping through him—it had nothing to do with the fact that her chest was pressing into his back or that her knees were locked on his hips. It had _nothing_ to do with that jasmine and lavender scent that wafted off her as their movement tousled her hair. He used his Quirk to blast them higher and higher, until their heads grazed the arched ceiling of Gym Gamma. A few faces turned in their direction, their classmates no doubt curious about the crazy shit he was about to pull.

"You're going to release you Quirk," he said quietly, even though they were much too high for anyone to hear them. "And not reactivate until I say."

He felt her swallow. "How far are we going to fall until you 'say?'"

Bakugo just grinned and put his finger on the pin of his left grenadier. "Release, round face."

Her grip on him tightened, but she brought her fingers together in front of his neck and gravity returned full force. Bakugo angled them face down, flying at the ground with every ounce of velocity they could muster.

"Bakug—AHH" his name on her lips was cut off by a scream, and Bakugo let out a wild burst of laughter as they hurtled toward the floor.

Vaguely, distantly he heard gasps and shouts from their classmates, but Bakugo ignored them as the ground rushed up to meet them.

"Just a bit... _closer._ " He pulled the pin on the grenadier, an explosion blasting toward the ground as he yelled to Uraraka, " _Now!_ "

She'd been waiting for it, and activated her Quirk as he said the word, immediately stopping their momentum and lessening the kickback from the grenadier. The force of the explosion pushed them back up and out of the worst of the shock wave, which rippled across the cement floor and toppled walls and dummies and students alike.

Uraraka's heart pounded against his back and her breath, heavy and exhilarated at the same time, tickled his ear. A satisfied smirk spread across his face as he watched some of the others pick themselves up and brush the dust from their clothes. The best, perhaps, was Deku, who was glaring up at Bakugo with a mix of anger and concern written across his face.

"Oy, Bakugo!" Buzzbrain, the closest, shouted up at them. "What the hell was that?"

"Victory," Bakugo said, grinning down at him. "You fucking extras better step up your game."

"We could really hurt someone if we did that," Uraraka murmured in his ear, pushing off his back and around his shoulder to face him. Once she reached where she wanted to be, she crossed her arms. "No way we can use something so crazy in the class fight."

"Tch."

"I'm serious, Bakugo. It was fun and really strong, but what if someone had been standing right below us? They'd get the full blast from the explosion. That could _kill_ someone."

"Is that why you want to be the frontman?" Bakugo said, crossing his own arms to match hers. "You think I'll take it too fucking far?"

" _Yes,_ " she said, her eyes wide, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You don't exactly have a very good track record for this sort of thing. Remember All Might's first class? Where you totally disregarded the point of the assignment and went after Deku in a rage? Deku and I won because you were too focused on beating him to a pulp. Or what happened when you thought Todoroki wasn't taking your fight seriously at the Sports Festival? Or during the finals when you basically started out fighting Deku instead of looking for All Might?"

"Okay, okay, shut up already."

"But it's not that I think you'll screw us—I mean, you could do that whether you're the frontman or not. I really think that our original plan is the only way for us to gain an element of surprise. The deadfall is really _really_ powerful. We should save that for the villains."

Bakugo growled.

Because of course she was right.

But he had no intention of admitting it.

"Bakugo?"

" _What?_ "

"Could we maybe do some sparring? That's still my weakest point, because I've always thought I would become more of a rescue hero, like Thirteen, so I haven't really done a lot of martial arts or hand to hand fighting training and—"

She wasn't meeting his eye, but fidgeting with her fingers as she looked off into space. Her cheeks glowed pink, as if she was embarrassed to be asking. As if she _shouldn't_ be asking to spar. Dumbass. She wanted to be a hero, didn't she? _Of course_ she should be learning to spar.

Maybe she was worried about what the others in the class would think if she came out of class two days in a row covered in bruises.

Well, they were going to have to get over it.

"You have to put us down first, moron."

"Oh! Of course, _duh_. Release!"

They dropped to the ground and Bakugo immediately crouched into a fighting stance.

"Try and hit me, Angelface."

She mirrored him, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she studied his movements. Then, just as he expected, she rushed him head on.

He _wasn't_ expecting the feinted right hook followed by a roll to his side and a spinning roundhouse kick to the back, but he dodged it and whirled to face her, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"You'll have to do better than that!"

She grinned in response and danced toward him, obviously trying to back him into a corner where he would have no choice but to fight her directly—close quarters were where Uraraka and her Quirk excelled. Instead of allowing her to have her way, Bakugo blasted himself over her head and landed behind her, ready to attack. She was waiting for him, though, and dodged his sweeping low kick with relative ease.

In her eyes, he could see it. She _knew_ she could only win this fight at close range. She knew her best and only chance was to rush in for a grapple in the half second it would take for him to push back up onto his feet.

So he didn't stand, but went for her legs, launching himself into her and wrapping his arms around her knees so she couldn't regain her footing as she fell backward.

" _Uff_ ," she grunted as he toppled her, and used her hands to break her fall.

"Did you do that because it was _me_ or because it was your first reaction?" Bakugo asked, standing and resuming his crouching stance several feet away.

"What?" Uraraka stood too.

"You caught yourself when you could've easily sent me to the fucking _moon_. I was wide open there. It's no good against me now because I've learned to control myself in the air and can catch myself with my Quirk if you try to drop me, but with _any_ other opponent, your first response should be to touch them and activate your Quirk."

It was because he wanted to be the best, Bakugo told himself, that he was helping her. He was going to be the number one and he wouldn't let incompetence anywhere near him.

She nodded and wiped sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. "Right, thanks!" She grinned as she she matched his stance. "Again?"

Half an hour later, they leaned against one of the cement walls, panting and covered in dust and scrapes and bruises. Uraraka was definitely worse for wear, but she'd managed to get a couple of solid hits in.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Uraraka asked between breaths. Her hands were on her knees and her hair fell across her face, but Bakugo could hear the impressed smile in her voice.

He merely grunted. "We're not here to get all buddy-buddy, round face." He'd avoided breakfast so he didn't have to talk to her. He sure as hell wasn't going to open up now.

"Ah, of course, I wouldn't want to ruin your terrible reputation with the thought that you might actually be capable of holding a conversation."

"Ray of fucking sunshine, you are."

Uraraka straightened, smiled slightly and shrugged, pushing off the wall and heading to join the throng of the class heading toward the locker rooms. "I'm just saying. It wouldn't kill you to talk to the rest of us every once in awhile."

"Have you ever tried to talk to Grapeface?" Bakugo wasn't sure why he bothered responding to her at all, but part of him didn't want her to walk away just yet.

Fucking great.

"I didn't say _all_ of us," Uraraka said, laughing lightly. "I know you basically hate all social interaction, but...you never know. You might be surprised if you just gave it a try."

"Tch."

"Have it your way, Lord Explosion Murder."

And she was gone, falling into step between the four eyed class rep and the nerd, practically bouncing even as they asked if she needed to go to Recovery Girl.

Bakugo's eye twitched.

(Uraraka)

After quickly shovelling food into their mouths, Uraraka, Tsuyu, Deku, and Kirishima all stood, nearly in unison, and headed toward U.A.'s main entrance and exit.

"You guys going today, too?" Kirishima asked as they headed out and onto the street. It wasn't often that all four internship students were called out of classes on the same day.

Uraraka and Tsuyu nodded. "We're meeting Hado and Ryukyu on site. But they told us we didn't need our costumes."

"Same here," said Deku as the four first years headed toward the train station. "That's kind of strange, don't you think?"

"Nah," said Kirishima, his easy stroll setting the pace. "Just a coincidence."

However, as they boarded the same train, their suspicion started to grow, and as they left at the same stop, followed the same streets, and eventually found themselves at the same building, they were thoroughly confused.

Outside stood the Big Three, U.A.'s best and brightest third years, chatting easily amongst themselves.

"Yo!" said Mirio when he saw them approach, his confident smile stretching across his face.

"Hey!" said Hado, also grinning widely.

Tamaki remained characteristically quiet.

"What is going on?" Tsuyu asked.

The Big Three shrugged.

"We're not sure, but we were all told to meet here. Let's go inside and find out."

They did so, and found the lobby of the meeting building full of heroes, some famous, some not. Uraraka and Tsuyu followed Hado to where Ryukyu stood, and the older girl immediately began bombarding the pro with questions. Uraraka scanned the room, and her eyes fell on Aizawa.

"Sensei!" she said, waving to catch his attention. "What are you doing here?"

"They called me," he said in his low baritone, looking tired, as always. "I was asked to join, so I came. It was brief, but I've heard about the situation and have a few things to say myself."

Ryukyu had mentioned briefly that Uraraka and Tsuyu might be able to play a role in what she'd only called "that case," and Uraraka wondered if this meeting had something to do with it. If a pro really wanted their help in what appeared to be such a large operation, Uraraka couldn't help but feel flattered.

Before they could ask any further questions, everyone was ushered into a large conference room.

A sidekick named Bubble Girl introduced herself, saying that she worked at the offices of Sir Nighteye, the agency Deku was interning with. She, Centipeder, Nighteye, and Fat Gum all had various bits of information that helped piece together the situation:

The League of Villains was suspected to be in contact with an organization known as the Eight Precepts of Death, who were developing a weapon, a drug, that could erase Quirks, at least temporarily. The pro heroes were worried that they weapon could be amplified and delete a Quirk entirely, if it damaged the root of the Quirk enough.

The weapon, however, contained human blood, and they suspected it to have been manufactured from a little girl, Eri, whom Deku and Mirio had encountered already. The heroes had compiled a list of possible hideouts of the Eight Precepts, and decided that the next step would be surveillance, and eventually, a rescue operation to save Eri.

Uraraka's heart clenched in her chest at the thought of anyone using a child to serve their evil purposes. The heroes suspected Chisaki, one of the leaders of the Eight Precepts, to have a Quirk that allowed disassembly and reassembly of anything—including Eri. He could be taking her apart and putting her back together over and over again.

They had to stop him.

The heroes stayed back to talk about a surveillance schedule, and Uraraka, Tsuyu, Kirishima, and Deku joined the Big Three at a table outside the meeting room. Deku and Mirio were quiet, each lost in their owns thoughts. Uraraka saw Deku staring down at his own hands in despair.

There was nothing she could say to fix things, and it made her heart ache. She knew Deku blamed himself. She knew he thought that he could've saved Eri when he'd chanced across her on patrol that day, but the way Nighteye described it, if Deku had tried anything back then, the whole situation would be worse.

Part of her wanted to reach out and take his hand, but another, larger part of her felt that was wrong. There were some things that people, Deku perhaps more than anyone, had to face on their own. Things they had to deal with within themselves. There was nothing she could say or do in this moment to make him feel as though he hadn't failed. All they could do was move forward and save Eri.

And they would.

Aizawa appeared at that moment and noted the bleak atmosphere hanging over the students with a lazy tilt of his head. "Are you holding a wake or something?"

"Sensei!" said Tsuyu.

"Ah, just call me Eraserhead outside of class," he said. His hands were in his pockets as he walked toward them. One at a time, he fixed his four students with a hard look. "However, I had originally planned to suspend all of your internships today. Knowing that the League of Villains could be involved with all of this changes things. The Eight Precepts are one thing, but the League…"

"WHAT?" demanded Kirishima, jumping up so fast he knocked his chair over. "NOW OF ALL TIMES?"

"But you know, Midoriya," Aizawa continued, ignoring the redhead's outburst and squatting down in front of Deku's chair. "You still haven't restored my trust in you yet. And you got in that fight with Bakugo… Unfortunately, I have reason to believe that if I were to stop you right now, you'd just jump out into the midst of things again."

Aizawa shook his head in a way that said he was both frustrated and amused, and Uraraka smiled slightly.

"I'm watching you," the teacher went on, looking Deku dead in the eye. "If you act out again, we'll go by the formal procedures this time around, Midoriya. Got it, problem child?" Aizawa paused and put a hand on Deku's shoulder. "Let me tell you something...that hand of yours just barely missed rescuing her...I'll bet that she felt something other than despair." He stood. "So keep looking forward and go on."

"Yes sir!" Deku exclaimed, jumping from his chair and clenching his fists in front of him. Uraraka smiled wider. There was nothing she could've said to help, but Aizawa had found the perfect words.

He turned to the others then. "Asui, Uraraka, and Kirishima, you three aren't even necessarily here of your own free will. What do you want to do?"

Uraraka didn't hesitate to stand. "Sensei Eraserhead! After hearing that kind of story, you can't tell me I can't go!"

The others echoed her sentiments and the ghost of a smile flickered across Aizawa's face. "Good. I simply wanted to be sure of your conviction. But know that the League is the greatest danger and our greatest concern. We will save the girl, but you will not overstep your boundaries. If I tell you to leave, or to stop, or to run, you do so. We will not allow the League to grow stronger by taking any of you captive."

"Understood!"

They left in high spirits, and Uraraka was determined to make the most out of every moment of training until the day if Eri's rescue arrived.

(Bakugo)

Something was different.

Bakugo slouched toward Gym Gamma after class, and watched as Uraraka, Kirishima, the nerd, and Froggy entered through the main gate. There was a determined air to their stride, a sense of purpose, and Bakugo growled. He _hated_ that he was missing out on internship experience because he didn't pass the fucking provisional licensing exam. He hated that they were a step ahead of him.

But now more than ever, something was up.

Uraraka split off from the others, who were likely heading back to the dorms, and made her way instead in his direction. Bakugo turned and kept walking toward to gym. He didn't wait for people, and he didn't want her to know he'd been watching.

She caught up, clearly having ran to do so, and was suddenly walking beside him.

"The fuck do you want, round face?"

 _Idiot. Why even talk to her? Just ignore her like you planned._

She hummed in response, unfazed as usual, and Bakugo studied her out of the corner of his eye. A half smile rested across her mouth and the light of the setting sun gleamed in her brown eyes. The spark in them unmistakeable.

"Oy, what's got you all worked up?"

"Hmm?" she asked, glancing up at him. "You seem to be the one worked up here…"

"Tch. You know what I mean. You go off to some internship shit all afternoon and all four of you come back looking like you know something the rest of us don't."

She grimaced a bit and looked away. "Ah...We're not allowed to talk about it."

"Then stop acting all fucking... _purposeful_ and shit. It's pissing me off."

She frowned, some war raging across her face that Bakugo forcibly ignored. He shoved his hands deeper into his pockets and picked up his pace.

They split at the gym entrance, heading to their separate locker rooms. The boys' side was quiet and empty, as students needed special teacher permission to enter after hours. He dropped his bag onto one of the benches and ran his hands through his hair.

"AAYEEE!"

A shriek cut through the silence, and Bakugo was at the locker room door before he realized he'd moved. He shouldered through it and what he saw in the hall made him go red in the face for several different reasons all at once.

The first was the fact that Uraraka was standing there in nothing but her school skirt and a sports bra, the flat plane of her stomach and the wiry muscle of her legs on display for anyone who was looking. Her face was a brilliant shade of crimson and her eyes blazed with all the fires of hell.

The second was Grapeface, who appeared to have been thrown against the wall opposite the girls' locker room with force. His nose was bleeding and he blinked up at Uraraka, clearly disorientated.

"Wha…" the useless piece of shit whined, his stupid round eyes sliding up and down Uraraka's body even as they glazed over in pain. "Why'd you kick me?"

"You—you little—How—" Uraraka sputtered in her rage, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "WHAT WERE YOU EVEN DOING?"

"Waiting... _all day_ ," he answered, shaking himself and crawling to his feet. "Knew you'd be here for extra practice. How could I _not_ take this opportunity to worship your _perfect_ body."

The grape was eyeing her openly now, practically drooling on himself as Uraraka's face reddened further. Bakugo, knowing his own face must be a similar color, stepped between the two, facing the perverted scum.

"The fuck is wrong with you?" Bakugo's voice a guttural purr. The thought of kicking the shit out this worm made his palms sweat in anticipation. "I'll kill you, raisin."

The smaller boy's face paled as he stared up at all the murderous intent that was Bakugo Katsuki.

But then Uraraka was stepping around him. She lifted Grapeface up by his ridiculous hair and slammed him back to the wall. His face went slack, undoubtedly reveling in the way Uraraka was manhandling him.

"If I _ever_ catch you doing this again," Uraraka growled. The huskiness of her voice gave Bakugo chills—he didn't want to think about what it was doing to the pervert. "I will _gladly_ let Bakugo blast the living crap out of you. For now, I think I'll let Cementoss deal with you, I'm sure he'll be along shortly."

And then the smaller boy was floating up toward the ceiling. He stopped just out of reach of it, so he couldn't use his weird Quirk to drag himself back down. He whimpered pathetically.

"Eh, this is a good angle for you, Uraraka, I can see all the way down—"

An explosion to the face shut him up.

Uraraka shook her head in disgust and stomped around Bakugo and back to her own locker room.

"Come on, Bakugo, you know you want to see Uraraka without those clothes—"

Bakugo growled low in his throat. "I'd rather see her kick your sorry ass again."

"I should've known you'd be into something weird like that, Bakugo," Grapeface sighed. "Uraraka is wasted on you. _I_ could be sparring with her tonight, letting her pin me under that voluptuous chest!" He moaned pitifully. "You better get your priorities straight, Bakugo! For us men everywhere!"

Bakugo sent another blast at him for good measure before slamming back into the locker room and throwing on his track suit.

Uraraka's face was still pink when they entered the gym a few minutes later. She had her arms wrapped tightly around her middle, and Bakugo's stomach twisted at the sudden sign of insecurity.

Because, he told himself, insecurity meant weakness. It meant she might not give her all in their practice because her mind was elsewhere.

It had nothing to do with the fact that the light in her eyes had dimmed a bit. Because who the fuck even thought about stupid shit like that? _Gods_ maybe Kirishima was getting to him.

Bakugo wasn't the type to comfort someone, and he didn't think Uraraka really needed comforting anyway. He jerked his head in the direction of the sparring mats and simply said, "You better kick his pathetic ass in the exam."

A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth and her arms loosened slightly as she fell into step beside him.

* * *

 **A/N:** Again, I hope the summary of the hero meeting is smooth enough. I just didn't want to go into too much detail when most of you have probably already read it in the manga. Also, Aizawa is bae so. (Feel free to ask me questions if you haven't read the manga and need more detail).

I originally wanted this chapter to be longer (like into the afternoon of the next day), but that would've basically doubled its length and therefore make it twice as long as previous chapters. If you guys are cool with longer chapters, I'm totally willing to do that in the future, but if you prefer the length that they are, I'll stick to that. (Right now the typically run between 3,000 and 4,000 words). Let me know!

For you other Kacchako writers out there, whose perspective do you prefer to write from? Does Bakugo or Uraraka come easier to you?


	6. Chapter Six: Edges and Eyes and Keeping

A/N: Thank you to all who favorited, followed, and reviewed! You guys absolutely warm my heart!

PREVIOUSLY: Uraraka and Bakugo are assigned to be partners for a Quirk-combination test and have one week to come up with moves that they will test in a battle royale against the rest of the class. They get off to a rocky start, but eventually begin to get the hang of working together. Bakugo begins to have feelings for Uraraka, which he attributes to his desire to take away what Deku has, since Uraraka is pretty obvious about her crush on Deku. He's determined to ignore these feelings. Meanwhile, a pop star/pro hero named Naegi Nobusuke asked Uraraka to date him to help out both of their reputations, and his agent has a whole public story planned out for them to meet and and begin dating. The main point for Uraraka is that her parents will get a big job out of it. This meeting is to take place the Wednesday of the week of Quirk combination training. Uraraka, Deku, Kirishima, and Tsuyu get involved the the plan to rescue Eri from the the Eight Precepts of Death.

* * *

Chapter Six: Edges and Eyes and Keeping Things Hidden

(Bakugo)

Bakugo threw his bag down beside his desk and slumped into his chair. Buzzbrain and Kirishima were laughing at something undoubtedly stupid and the class vice rep was explaining something from the homework to Half-and-Half in the back of the room, but otherwise 1-A was empty.

Thank the fucking stars.

His head was resting on the cool surface of the desk when hurried footsteps and an excited squeak announced the presence of a fucking twerp that Bakugo was _not_ in the mood to see this early in the morning.

"Kaminari! Kirishima!" Grapeface hissed, scuttling to stand beside their desks and waving his hands around wildly. " _You're not going to believe this!_ "

"Huh?" asked Buzzbrain, and Bakugo slammed his forehead into the desk once, wishing he could knock himself the fuck out and not have to listen to any of what the grape was about to say.

"I waited in the girls' locker room after class yesterday! And I saw…" he paused for what could only be meant as dramatic effect. " _Uraraka changing!_ "

" _What!?_ " Buzzbrain exclaimed. "Did you get any pictures?"

"Eh, not cool, man," Kirishima said, but Grapeface and Buzzbrain ignored him.

"You bet I did."

Bakugo, forehead still pressed into the desk, opened his right eye to glare at the little shit, but Grapeface was excitedly flipping through his phone and didn't bother to notice.

"You sure this is Uraraka?" asked Buzzbrain, turning the phone to look from several different angles. "It looks kind of photoshopped to me."

"Of course it's her! Bakugo was there, he'll tell you!"

Three pairs of eyes locked on him all at once, and Bakugo's palms began to sweat.

"Whaaa—" said Buzzbrain. " _You_ were spying on the girls' locker room with _Mineta_?"

"Like hell I was," Bakugo growled, slamming his chair back and stomping toward them. "What I _did_ see was Uraraka kicking his fucking ass—"

"In her underwear!"

"I'll kill you!"

Bakugo ripped the phone from Buzzbrain's hand, briefly noting a very blurry picture of what did look to be Uraraka in the locker room, and threw it at the opposite wall so hard it shattered.

Grapeface wailed in despair, but Bakugo didn't have time for his shit. He grabbed the smaller boy around the throat and lifted him off the floor with one hand, his other hand flashing dangerously as he brought it up in front of his face.

"Uraraka's going to kick your ass into fucking _orbit_ in the exam. You're _nothing_ but a weak, pathetic shitstain on our class's reputation. You want to be a hero? Fucking act like it." Bakugo pressed his hand into the grape's face, and the small boy whimpered so loudly Bakugo thought he might actually shit his pants.

Instead of blasting his face off, Bakugo dropped him, hard, and he scurried off to hide behind Kirishima.

"Oy! I want no part of this!" said the redhead, pushing Grapeface away. "Spying on the girl's locker room is _not_ manly, dude."

Bakugo looked up then and saw Uraraka standing in the doorway. Deku was rambling aimlessly beside her, but she seemed not to be listening. Instead, she met Bakugo's eyes and her cheeks reddened. She must've heard at least some of their conversation.

Bakugo bared his teeth and growled at her.

Gods knew he didn't want her to think he _cared_.

A challenging glint flashed through her eyes then and Bakugo hid a grin and she stalked to her desk on the opposite side if the room. Defiance suited her better than embarrassment.

(Kirishima)

It was a well known fact that Mineta was a perverted psycho.

It was also a known fact that Bakugo didn't give a shit—not about Mineta or anyone else.

So, naturally, it was up to Kirishima to put an end to the smaller boy's ridiculous, sexist tirade. He should've been the one smashing that phone.

But Kaminari was into it, and that made Kirishima hesitate, if only for a second, and to his surprise, Bakugo hadn't hesitated at all. Before Mineta even had a chance to flip through any of the pictures he'd allegedly taken of Uraraka, Bakugo was there, making them all feel like useless trash for buying into Mineta's crap.

It was pretty freaking manly.

But the best part, perhaps the part that really mattered, was a word Bakugo had used. Twice.

 _Uraraka._

Not round face or pink cheeks or floating bitch. _Uraraka._ It had slipped out so naturally that Kirishima almost missed it. Bakugo might've even missed it himself.

And though he'd said "I'll kill you," Bakugo had left the real fight up to her. " _Uraraka's going to kick your ass into fucking orbit."_ Lord Explosion Murder was going to let someone else do the murdering.

Kirishima shook his head. Had he somehow fallen into an alternate dimension?

And then Uraraka was standing in the doorway, undoubtedly having heard what Bakugo said, and a strange look crossed her face—gratitude and shock and a challenge all at once. It was a glimpse back into the Uraraka that had come out at the Sports Festival, the Uraraka that Bakugo insisted lurked under her seemingly fragile exterior.

She almost looked like someone who _could_ take Bakugo in a fight, if she really wanted to.

And then Bakugo saw her and their eyes met across the room and his were almost… soft. Or _open_ , perhaps, just a crack. As if some of what was under his own harsh exterior was peeking out.

And then he'd growled at her and utterly ruined the effect.

But Kirishima had seen it, even if Uraraka hadn't, and even if Bakugo hadn't meant to show it in the first place.

He looked back to Uraraka, sizing her up a bit more than he had before. If she could get so far under Bakugo's skin, if she could get in his head when no one else could, there must be something pretty freaking special about her.

A part of him wanted to tease Bakugo for it relentlessly, but a kinder part of him thought that this might be the only shot they had at Bakugo opening up to _anyone_. It really wouldn't be right to stunt another man's growth.

Bakugo stomped back to his seat and didn't turn to look at Uraraka again, but the tips of his ears were pink as he slammed his head back down onto the desk.

Kirishima noticed, and smiled.

(Uraraka)

Her head wasn't in it today, and Bakugo beat her time and again as they sparred during class. She kept thinking about that stupid encounter with Mineta yesterday and the plan for that afternoon—Hamuro's "story" for her meeting with Naegi.

"The fuck is wrong with you today?" Bakugo spat, trudging up to her after blasting her halfway across the gym. "Am I suddenly not good enough anymore? Get your head out of the fucking clouds already!"

"Ah, sorry Bakugo… I—"

"Don't apologize, shit-wit. Do better."

Uraraka hauled herself back onto her feet and followed him back to their starting point, lowering herself into a defensive stance and trying to focus as Bakugo lunged at her again.

She sidestepped, but he whirled mid-lunge and blasted her from behind, sending her staggering forward. Uraraka whipped around to face him, bringing her fists up, but too slow. Bakugo grabbed her by the wrists. Expecting a headbutt or shove, Uraraka braced herself, but Bakugo let go and clicked his tongue.

"Push-ups. Go," he said, turning away and heading to grab weights for himself. "I'm not wasting my time with this shit if you can't even focus."

"Bakugo, I—"

"Too late, round face. 100 push-ups, and don't even think about using your Quirk."

Uraraka grumbled, but did as he said. It _was_ fairly pointless to practice when she couldn't focus. She was just going to get beat up.

The rest of the class period passed that way—Bakugo growling things like "what the fuck kind of form is that?" and "if you can't do it right you're going to have to do more!" All the while he was doing his own exercises, going harder and faster than Uraraka even thought possible.

She made no comment on this fact, and used the repetitive motions to calm her mind.

It wasn't like a _real_ villain would be attacking her this afternoon. Hamuro's plan involved some of Naegi's acquaintances from U.A.—a gigantification Quirk user and someone able to alter the appearance of himself and others at will. The latter would make the former into a monster and he would attack Uraraka as she was on her way to Ryukyu's agency. Naegi, who would be eating at a restaurant nearby would jump to her defense and stage a fight against the monster. The whole thing should only take about ten minutes, if all went according to plan.

And then, theoretically, there would be the press to deal with, and they undoubtedly would want to talk to her.

Uraraka felt a little queasy.

She focused on Bakugo, who had strapped weights around his chest and was doing push-ups nearby. The powerful muscles in his arms rippled as moved steadily up and down, and a few beads of sweat dripped from his hairline and his nose. His eyebrows weren't furrowed in their usual aggressive grimace and his teeth weren't gritted in anger or frustration. He looked...calm. It was as if he found solace in something familiar.

It made _her_ calm watching him. But it inspired her a bit too. It was clear he'd done this hundreds of times, and the results showed in the way that he fought. He was strong, and he'd worked hard to get there.

She needed to work hard too.

Reinvigorated, Uraraka started pushing herself harder. _You can do better, Ochako!_

If Bakugo noticed her enthusiasm, he didn't comment, but Uraraka didn't care. She'd let Naegi have his hero moment this afternoon, but after that, Uravity was going to do nothing but shine.

"You better be ready tomorrow," Bakugo growled at her as they wiped sweat from their faces and made their way to the locker rooms with the rest of the class. "We don't have time for any more bullshit, got it?"

Uraraka nodded and followed Tsuyu into the girls' locker room.

She made sure to wash her hair twice and scrub all the grime from her face. " _Appearances matter!"_ Hamuro had told her. Uraraka had been in the news before, but the agent was particularly adamant about her looking her best today. People had to believe that Naegi would fall for her.

She would be heading to her "internship" straight from All Might's class, and Uraraka steeled herself before exiting the shower. They technically _did_ have internship today, but Uraraka had told Tsuyu to go on ahead because she was going to go to the support department to check on her costume upgrades. Uraraka hated lying to her friend, but hopefully after today, that would all be over and everything would be out in the open.

Once the other girls had left, Uraraka dressed and brushed out her hair. She applied a quick layer of the mascara Hamuro had given her and made her way across campus and in the direction of the Ryukyu Hero Agency.

(Bakugo)

"Holy shit!" Buzzbrain yelled. They were on free period after All Might's class and most of 1-A had returned to the common area of the dorms. Buzzbrain jumped over the back of the couch and grabbed the remote. The tv had been on silently, playing the irrelevant news that no one was paying any attention to and Bakugo had one foot on the stair that would take him up to his dorm, but turned to see what the commotion was about.

" _The villain seems to have captured a civilian!"_ The live news reporter was saying. " _Wait, isn't that...isn't that Uravity? Yes folks, it appears the villain has grabbed U.A. freshman Uraraka Ochako! You probably know her from the U.A. Sports Festival last year for her fight against tournament winner Bakugo Katsuki—"_

The whole class moved as one, pushing past each other trying to see what was going on. Bakugo told himself he didn't care. That things like this happened all the time and that Uraraka was trained to deal with it.

But he took his foot off the step and turned toward the tv anyway.

The villain was grotesque. It looked like some kind of mash-up of an octopus and a bear—fur and tentacles and wild eyes. It was _huge_ , three or four times the size of All Might in his muscled form, at least. And one of its arms was wrapped around Uraraka.

The camera zoomed in on her face, and the hard glint in her eye told Bakugo that he didn't need to worry, but several of his classmates gasped, some grasping each other's hands or biting their own nails in worry. Bakugo glanced to Deku, whose eyes were welling up. All Might's power flickered across his hands for a moment, where they gripped the back of the couch he stood behind, and it splintered between his fingers.

Bakugo rolled his eyes and looked back at the screen. Uraraka's hands had enough reach that if she twisted them at the right angle, she'd be able to touch the villain and turn him helpless. She struggled for a moment, but then the light in her eyes just...died and she stopped trying to fight it.

 _What the fuck, Angelface. You've got him! The hell are you doing?_

Bakugo clenched his fists, searching her face for some sign of an ace up her sleeve, but there was nothing. Had she panicked? No...there wasn't any fear in her face, though she seemed to be trying to hide that fact. _Why?_

"Surely there's a hero around!" the class vice rep said, squeezing the shit out of Buzzbrain and Half-and-Half's shoulders from where she stood behind them. "Why isn't anyone coming to help?"

"Where's Tsuyu? Shouldn't they be together?"

"Uraraka told her to go on ahead, something about going to the support department first—"

"Where do you think Uraraka is? Shouldn't the Ryukyu Agency be close?"

"What if—"

"Did you see—"

"Uraraka, hang in there! You—"

Bakugo wanted to burst as their nervous chatter grew louder and louder. "SHUT THE HELL UP ALREADY."

Surprised eyes turned to him from all directions and Bakugo scowled in return. "She's got her fucking provisional license, doesn't she?"

"But—"

"Guys, look!"

Someone else appeared on the screen. He didn't look much older than any of them and he wasn't dressed like a hero, but he was walking toward the villain and... _talking to it?_

"That's Naegi Nobusuke!" Uniform exclaimed.

"OH MY GOD!" Alien Girl yelled, grabbing Earphones by the arm and jumping up and down. "That's _Naegi Nobusuke_!"

Bakugo had no clue who the fuck that was, but suddenly the pretty fucker jumped at the villain and started fighting him hand to hand, except...the villain wasn't really fighting back. It was over in a few quick hits and the monster that had grabbed Uraraka let her go and began to shrink back down to its original size, clearly knocked out.

Kirishima whistled. "Dude."

"That was awesome," Buzzbrain agreed.

"Thank the gods," the vice rep sighed.

There was a collective breath of relief from the class, but Bakugo clicked his tongue. _What the fuck just happened?_ His eyes scanned the screen, where Pretty Fucker was helping Uraraka up from the ground. She smiled nervously, a hand rubbing the back of her neck. _Tch._

A few moments passed in which the live reporter gave some guestimated stats on the villain, and Bakugo was about to leave when the camera zoomed in on Uraraka and her _hero._

He was stupidly good looking, even Bakugo could admit that, and his arm was brushing up against Uraraka's shoulder and what might've been a comforting way, if Bakugo didn't know for a fact that Uraraka didn't need comforting—if he didn't know for a fact that Uraraka could've taken that villain if she hadn't fucking given up mid-stride.

Pretty Fucker said something about being at a restaurant nearby and wanting to help, and Uraraka was being idiotic and thankful in return. The reporter clearly thought it was adorable and Bakugo almost growled at him through the screen.

"Can you _believe_ Uraraka just got saved by _Naegi Nobusuke?_ " Alien Girl was asking. She was shaking Deku now, and the nerd's face was some weird mix of red and green that would've been funny if Bakugo didn't have a sneaking suspicion he looked about the same. "Pretty girls have all the luck!"

Bakugo didn't bother mentioning the weirdness of the whole situation—Uraraka had obviously had it under control and something had stopped her from acting.

Because he didn't give a shit, godsdammit.

An older couple appeared on screen then, and as the fucking odds would have it, they were Uraraka's parents. Supposedly, they'd been having lunch with Pretty Fucker because he wanted to contract them to build him a new office building. What were the _fucking_ odds? He half-asked half-told Uraraka to join them, and she was red from forehead to chest as she nodded.

The press lost their fucking minds at that.

The camera shoved its way into Uraraka's face and the report stuffed a microphone under her nose. "Uraraka Ochako! What is your relationship with Naegi Nobusuke?"

Bakugo hadn't thought it possible, but Uraraka turned an even brighter shade of scarlet. "Oh uh...nothing! I mean, I've never met him before. There isn't anything...uh…"

"Isn't she adorable, folks?" The reporter cut her off and turned back to the camera. "I'm sure we can expect to see more headline news from this up-and-comer!"

In the background, Uraraka was trying to sneak unnoticed into the restaurant behind her parents, who were smiling at her widely, as if _she'd_ been the one to take down the villain.

Bakugo rolled his eyes and headed up to his room.

(Uraraka)

Her head was spinning.

Uraraka trailed after her parents, blinking to make sure they were actually _there_. No one had told her that they would come into all this so quickly. She expected the job offer to come _after_ she and Naegi became a "thing."

But this was probably better. This way, they'd never suspect what she was doing for them. They couldn't feel bad about it if they didn't know.

"Ochako, sweetie, you were so _brave_!" her mother gushed as she led the way to their table. "I would've been screaming my head off if something like had happened to me."

"Oh, you know," Uraraka said, rubbing the back of her neck. "We do training and stuff…"

 _And as far as villain encounters go,_ she thought, _this was hardly terrifying._

She was almost embarrassed to have done nothing.

But her parents were smiling widely at Naegi, who had just saved their daughter and was offering them more money than they'd ever made, and nothing could truly make her regret her decision.

Naegi snuck her a secretive smile as her parents began looking over the contract, and Uraraka's face heated in spite of herself.

Part of her felt like she shouldn't have to be convincing herself that this was good, but another part of her couldn't help but wonder: would she really be happy?

Only time would tell.

Uraraka feigned small talk with Naegi over lunch, knowing full well that the press had bribed their way into the surrounding tables. She saw recording devices hidden under napkins and caught the occasional phone turn toward her to snap a picture. She tried to ignore it as she and Naegi spoke of their individual lives, and Naegi made quite the show of saying that he hoped he would see her again, and Uraraka knew she was playing her part as the unavoidable blush spread across her cheeks.

She kicked herself, wondering what Bakugo must think of her.

But why...why was it _him_ she thought of? Why not Deku? Or even Iida? Why did she know in this moment that Bakugo above all would judge her if he knew the truth?

Why was he the first person to cross her mind?

Ugh.

He wouldn't think of her the same after this, that was for sure. He wouldn't see her as an equal or a partner if she was willing to sit back and let someone save her. And could she really blame him for that?

And maybe more than that, did she really care what he thought so much? They were only partners for the week.

 _Have some faith in your damn self._

His words still echoed through her and Uraraka almost felt ashamed for ignoring them. Bakugo's unrelenting nature had helped her find a steadiness within herself. He'd forced her to dig deep and find her own strength and think on her feet. He'd given her no other option and Uraraka knew she was the better for it.

And she'd probably just ruined everything.

But it was for a good cause. It was for her _only_ cause. And Uraraka told herself that she could find peace with all of it as long as her parents no longer needed to worry about money.

It was all she wanted.

Wasn't it?

Now that it was all here in her lap, Uraraka wasn't so sure. She'd decided to become a hero over many other viable career options.

 _Top heroes make more money than most jobs. It would be plenty to support three people_.

That was the answer she gave herself, and always had, but after going on missions and taking down villains, Uraraka found that heroism was so fulfilling. She'd done a lot of good and helped a lot of people and she didn't even have her real license yet. She'd been deemed worthy enough to join the mission to rescue Eri. _Her_ , above hundreds of other interns with all the hero agencies involved.

Being a hero was something she was good at.

It was something that brought her joy and made all the training she went through worth it.

Maybe she was selfish. Maybe she'd chosen heroics because _she_ wanted it. She could've just as easily gone into support or business or a technical career. There were plenty of jobs out there that paid just as much as heroics, and most were considerably more stable and less dangerous. But she'd never even really considered them.

Growing up, she'd watched hundreds of videos of rescue heroes like Thirteen diving into natural disasters or war zones or villain attacks and saving civilians caught in the thick of it. The thought of doing something like that just _called_ to her. As if there was something in her very bones that ached to help people. Perhaps it came from her gravity manipulation—she held sway over a force of nature, so it made sense that she would want to use that to protect people from other destructive forces.

And that wasn't selfish, right?

It _was_ though, at its core, because it put her in constant danger. It meant that a day would not go by without her parents worrying about losing her. At any moment, she could take a fatal or incapacitating blow and they would be left to either pick up the pieces or take care of her for the rest of their lives.

So why was she so insistent?

"Ochako, sweetie?" Her mother was leaning across the table and studying her face. "Everything all right in there?"

Uraraka shook herself, feeling her face heat up for being so lost in thought at lunch.

"It's normal," said Naegi. "I've seen lots of people go through a bit of shock after a villain attack." He gave her an encouraging smile and Uraraka knew he thought she was still playing the part. She returned a weak smile and shook herself again, focusing on the food that was placed before her.

The contract Naegi offered her parents seemed almost too good to be true. They would be the sole company hired to build a new, modern skyscraper in the heart of downtown. They would have access to top technology and have builders with all sorts of helpful Quirks under their supervision. Naegi was even going to pay for their daily commute, so they wouldn't have to relocate to downtown.

"If you don't mind me asking," Uraraka's dad said after they'd finished signing the paperwork. "Why us?"

Naegi smiled. "I've seen some of your early work and your style suits me. I have no need to some large company to build me a building that looks just like every other skyscraper in the city. I want something unique, and from what I can see, your company can bring me just that."

Uraraka could've hugged him. He'd really thought of everything.

They finished eating and were about to leave the restaurant when Naegi turned to her, a faint blush in his cheeks.

"I meant what I said before," his voice was low but Uraraka knew it was meant to carry across the restaurant to all the listening ears. "I would very much like to see you again, if it's all right with you of course." The last was directed at her parents.

Her mother beamed, and even her protective father smiled a bit.

The reporters didn't bother trying to hide anymore, and some of them actually _cheered_ when Uraraka nodded and said, "I'd like that, too."

Naegi grinned and leaned in to whisper in her ear, "We just made the front page, princess."

(Bakugo)

Sweat soaking through his tracksuit after a hard run, Bakugo entered the dorm that night feeling mostly at ease. He'd been able to get out most of the energy and frustration that had been building since that afternoon, and he'd managed to run Uraraka out of his thoughts entirely.

But there she was, sitting on the couch in the godsdamned common area. All the girls from class 1-A were gathered around her, firing off questions so rapidly Bakugo couldn't distinguish one voice from the next. Uraraka's face was a bright shade of pink as she stammered responses.

He scoffed and ignored them, going instead to the kitchen area and digging through the fridge.

Uraraka said something that made a few of the girls squeal, and suddenly she was floating above the couch, her face redder than Kirishima's hair. She covered it with her hands and groaned, spinning lazily in the air as she didn't bother to control her Quirk.

She seemed...better. Better than she was during All Might's class that day, where her eyes had hardly been able to focus and her distraction hung heavy in the downturn of her mouth.

Bakugo turned away quickly and cursed himself for looking in the first place. He dragged his hand through his hair and grabbed an apple, suddenly not in the mood to make anything.

Bakugo wasn't stupid. He knew that the damn twisting in his gut was directly related to Uraraka, but had no intention of admitting even to himself what it might mean. Besides, she had Deku, and now the Pretty Fucker apparently. Any room she might spare for Bakugo in her thoughts was quickly getting taken up by others.

Besides, he had better shit to do.

It was probably just a physical reaction anyway. That was normal for guys his age, right? His stupid hormones were just out of whack around her and he just needed to get over it before he wasted all his time thinking about it.

 _Then what's stopping you?_ asked the voice in his head. _Just get over her already._

 _Easier said than done._

 _Because you don't want to?_

He watched her for a moment out of the corner of his eye. She was upside down now, hands still covering her face as Alien Girl stood on her tiptoes and tried to pull Uraraka back down. She floated higher in response, shaking her head back and forth, but even in her embarrassment, she was smiling.

 _Fuck off._

Uraraka caught his eye and righted herself, releasing her Quirk and trying to extract herself from the others.

"Oh! I just remembered, I promised Bakugo that we'd get some more practicing in! The test is Friday, after all!"

"Wha—" Bakugo started, but she rushed to his side, her eyebrows twitching up in a way that seemed to say _go with it_.

He had half a mind to _not_ , but she was herding him toward the front door and she'd definitely owe him for this. He strode out ahead of her, ignoring the pouting of the other girls, but once they were outside he whirled around to face her.

"Sorry!" she said, rubbing the back of her neck and smiling sheepishly at him. There was still a bit of pink in her cheeks that he could see only in the light spilling out from the common area. The night sky above was cloudy, and rain was more a promise than a possibility. "I'm not very good at talking about myself like that and I needed an out…"

Bakugo snorted and started heading along the side of the dorm building. "You owe me, round face."

"I know," she caught up to him, not bothering to ask where he was going. "And Kirishima told me what you did to Mineta this morning, so I really owe you double."

"Tch."

"Thanks, by the way."

"Whatever."

The wind was stirring up that jasmine scent that always hung around her, and Bakugo felt the anger from that afternoon bubbling back up.

"The fuck was that today?" he demanded, stopping and grabbing her shoulder, forcing her to face him. Her eyes hit him like gunshots and he swallowed.

"What?" she asked. "In All Might's class? I know, I was distracted, but I'm going to—"

"Not that, moron. The shit you pulled with that villain."

"What are you talking about?" But she didn't sound confused. She sounded guarded.

"I'm not an idiot, Uraraka, though apparently most people are. You fucking _had_ him and then you just stopped fighting. Why?"

Her mouth formed a hard line and she blinked at him a few times. "Uh…"

"I know you were holding back, and I don't get it."

"I-I just...panicked. I—"

"Fuck that. It was all over the news. I saw your face. You weren't scared at all." He crossed his arms over his chest, not even sure why he was making such a point out of it, but he needed to know. He needed to know why she didn't fight for herself when she was perfectly capable of taking on that villain alone. "It was like you were waiting for someone to come save you."

"That's ridiculous—"

"Is it?"

"Maybe...maybe you just have too much faith in me." Her voice was quiet, but there was an edge to it. She wouldn't meet his eye, staring at the ground instead and chewing on her lip.

"Gods, this again?" Part of him wanted to grab her by the chin and force her to hold her head up, and another part of him wanted to punch her for being an idiot. "I'm not your mom, Uraraka. I'm not here to tell you that _you can do it_ or that you're strong or tough or whatever. Get your head out of your ass and look in the godsdamned mirror and you'd see it yourself." He felt his ears burn after he finished. He hadn't meant to be so fucking encouraging.

But instead of looking at him with that signature challenge in her eyes, she kept her head down and sniffled.

 _Shit._

"Just forget it, okay?" she said, rubbing her eyes and lifting her head a bit. "It doesn't really matter."

"It would've mattered if someone hadn't been there to save your sorry ass."

"Why do you even care?"

His treacherous heart lodged itself somewhere in his throat and he was glad for the night that hid the blush in his cheeks.

"Don't read too much into it, round face." His voice wasn't as much of a growl as he'd hoped, and he turned his head to avoid looking at her. "Just don't fuck up like that on the exam Friday. I'm going to be the best and I don't need you getting in my way."

But instead of being provoked, Uraraka simply nodded, and Bakugo's chest constricted. He didn't want to say anything else, he didn't _need_ to say anything else, for his own sake, but there was some annoying part of him that felt cold in the face of her sadness.

 _Stupid._

"Whatever happened today, it's behind you now, round face," he said as he started walking again. "Don't let it eat at you."

If she really _had_ panicked and he'd been unable to tell, then she couldn't get hung up on it. He wouldn't tell her, of course, but that day that he'd been taken by the League of Villains...it fucking haunted him. He still woke up in a cold sweat, phantom hands around his throat, eating away at his skin. After they'd gotten him out, Aizawa and All Might had tried to force him to see a trauma therapist, but in his typical fashion, Bakugo had outright refused. He didn't talk about his feelings.

But what ate at him the most was the fact that the Hands Guy that led the League had thought that Bakugo would want to join him. Uraraka, at least, didn't have to worry about that side of things.

She eventually fell into step beside him again, and opened and closed her mouth a few times, seemingly at a loss for words.

"You don't have to say anything," he said, kicking himself for not just fucking dropping it already. "You're still here, right? So you can do better next time."

She nodded, looking only half-convinced. "Where are we going?"

Bakugo pointed up. "You're going to float me up to my room. I've got shit to do."

Indeed, they had stopped below his window, four stories above.

"Oh! Sure, sure," she said. She pressed the pads of her fingers to his arm and Bakugo ignored the small current of electricity that seemed to radiate through them. He floated upward, using his Quirk to give himself a burst of speed.

"Hey, Bakugo?" she called up from the ground, slowly growing smaller as he rose.

"What?"

"Thanks! For everything."

Bakugo ground his teeth and refused to look at her again.

It was official.

He was totally and utterly fucked.

* * *

A/N: Whew! Longest chapter yet. Sorry it's been a while. I've spent the majority of the last week and a half at the mechanic because my car had like a million problems. Anyway, Kirishima finally got a POV section! I'm hoping to bring him into it more and more as we go on.

I hope you guys enjoyed! Please drop me a review! They keep me going!


	7. Chapter 7: Bloodstream

A/N: Much love to Summer RainingStars, Clarissa Kirishima, BiggySayles, wthtonibelle, and Anon for the reviews!

* * *

Chapter Seven: Bloodstream

(Bakugo)

 _The dream was the same. It was always the same. Yet Bakugo somehow couldn't totally convince himself that it wasn't real._

 _The taproom melted out of a swirling black fog, the walls sometimes there, sometimes not, and everything was slightly off: it shimmered and wobbled at the edges._

 _But the chair was hard beneath him and the shackles that encased his hands burned cold against the hot skin of his palms. Thick leather straps bound him in place and his heart was a kick drum in his his chest as he studied the core members of the League of Villains that stood around him. They all seemed so at ease, as if he wasn't any threat to them at all._

" _What say you join us?" The Hands Guy had a voice like footsteps on gravel._

 _And for the hundredth time, Bakugo refused them, but for the first time, it was the girl with the pigtails and dark circles under her eyes that came forward to release him. She solidified from the black fog, only becoming fully corporeal when she was directly in his line of sight._

" _What say you join us?" she asked him again, her voice low and sweet. She sauntered up and crouched before him, but her eyes were off. They should be yellow. He'd been here a hundred times—she'd cackled from the corner as the Hands Guy taunted him—and he knew her eyes should be yellow. But now they were brown, and there was challenge in them that he knew as well as he knew the searing burn of his own Quirk._

 _He blinked and there she was, looking so out of place among the villains around her. Angelface—a more apt nickname than he'd originally known. But the Hands Guy was coming at her from behind and she seemed not to notice._

" _Uraraka, get out of the way—"_

" _I...can't…"_

" _What are you talking about? Move!"_

" _Maybe you just have too much faith in me."_

 _And then a hand coiled around her throat, and Bakugo watched in helpless slow motion as all five fingers settled into place. Slowly, so slowly, Uraraka's skin began peeling away._

" _No!" he bellowed, straining against the bonds that held him in place. But they were a crushing weight upon him and Uraraka's padded fingers were out of reach._

 _She gave him a sad smile as she melted away, fading into the fog around them. "Why do you... even care?"_

Some conscious part of him wrenched him awake, and he flung himself off the bed in the effort. He lay on the floor of his dark dorm room, still tangled in the thin blanket and breathing like a machine gun. Sweat rolled off his bare chest and beaded in his eyebrows.

It was always Hands Guy that released him in the dream, and up until tonight it had always ended in _Bakugo_ getting disintegrated.

This new version was so much worse.

He stared up at the ceiling, where a reflection of the rain danced through his curtains, and focused on calming his ragged breathing. His neck itched, and he pointedly ignored the urge to scratch it.

When Bakugo had been captured, the Hands Guy had spoken of the shackles of society, how people's expectations of heroes and villains were so wrong. He'd thought that Bakugo would understand that, would agree with him, and would want to fight against that society.

Because U.A. had put him in literal shackles after the Sports Festival. Because they put more value in the victory than in what it took to get there. Hands Guy thought that treating Bakugo like an equal, that removing the shackles, would be enough to sway him.

But just because Bakugo saw things a little differently than most heroes didn't make him a villain, not inherently.

It was something he had to tell himself nearly every night.

But these dreams were nothing but weakness. Something he had to overcome within himself. He _knew_ that, but repeating the truth like a mantra didn't seem to be helping. He wanted to get angry. He wanted to blast the walls and the floor and the furniture into fucking oblivion, but he just didn't have the energy for it.

It was always a choice—hero or villain, and Bakugo knew he'd made his, but what if his actions dragged other people into danger? That certainly wasn't very heroic.

All the more reason to keep Uraraka at arm's length. She was the first person in a long time—maybe ever—that he didn't feel the overwhelming desire to push away. Go figure pushing her away might be the only way to keep her from getting mixed up in his shit. The League could still be after him, and he didn't want to give them the satisfaction of leverage.

Without sitting up, Bakugo reached for his phone on the bedside table and pulled up the news. Maybe there would be some hint about what the League was up to now.

When the front page loaded, Bakugo blinked.

He blinked again.

 _Musutafu's Hottest New Couple?_

The headline blared above a picture of Uraraka and the Pretty Fucker. It looked like they were in a restaurant and he was leaning down to whisper in her ear. Following this was a brief recap of the villain encounter and a detailed description of everything that the reporter saw when he spied on Uraraka's lunch with Pretty Fucker and her parents.

Bakugo wanted to read it and didn't want to at the same time, so he tossed the phone onto his bed and continued to stare up at the ceiling.

 _When in the fuck did I become so pathetic?_ he thought bitterly as his stomach did a painful little flip flop.

All he really needed to do was get through All Might's class once more and pass his test on Friday, and then he could go back to living a mostly Uraraka-free life. It would, at least, be much easier to pretend she didn't exist.

But in the back of his mind, he was still bothered by Uraraka's villain encounter earlier that day. It seemed almost….fabricated. But why? What reason would Uraraka have for letting Pretty Fucker save her?

 _I thought you were going to stop thinking about her._

Bakugo dragged himself back onto the bed with a groan. He was right. He was Bakugo Katsuki. He didn't need to be wasting his time thinking about Uraraka, or the Pretty Fucker, or that villain, or anyone. He needed to focus on what it was going to take to become the number one hero.

In fact, he should be _happy_ that Uraraka was dating the Pretty Fucker. It meant she wouldn't be fawning over shitty Deku all the time, which was was started all these obnoxious thoughts in the first place.

 _For being so disciplined in your training, your head certainly is unruly._

Bakugo wondered if an explosion to the brain would shut up his damned voice of reason.

He closed his eyes but there was All Might, standing his ground and pushing himself way past an impossible limit to save Bakugo from the League of Villains and All for One. Giving _everything_ for him. Giving up his identity, his top spot, his symbolism, so that Bakugo Katsuki could walk away from that fight. The _number one_ hero knowingly put himself out of comission for a kid that everyone seemed to think would be better off as a villain.

And he'd done it with a godsdamned smile.

"Fucking useless," Bakugo growled at himself, sliding out of bed once more and grabbing a set of weights from the corner. If he couldn't sleep, he might as well do something productive. Gods knew he had a long way to go before he would be worthy of taking All Might's title.

(Uraraka)

 _[12 Unread Messages]_

 _[23:02 Sweet Tsuyu] Ochako, hun, I hope your practice with Bakugo went well. He was not too destructive, I hope? If he is, be sure to use some of those Gunhead moves on him, yes? xo_

 _[01:50 YaoMomo to Group: We Run This Motha] Brace yourselves, Mina just saw the news._

 _[01:50 Queen Mina to Group: We Run This Motha] OH MY GOD URARAKA TELL ME YOU'VE SEEN THE NEWS._

 _[01:51 Queen Mina to Group: We Run This Motha] DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE ASLEEP OHH I CAN'T HANDLE THIS! YOU AND NAEGI ARE OFFICIALLY A THING ALREADY?_

 _[01:51 Queen Mina to Group: We Run This Motha] HOW COULD YOU KEEP THIS A SECRET ALL DAY? ALL YOU TOLD US TONIGHT WAS THAT HE WANTED TO SEE YOU AGAIN. THAT IS NOT THE SAME AS DATING._

 _[01:51 Hagakure to Group: We Run This Motha] Breath, Mina dear._

 _[01:52 Queen Mina to Group: We Run This Motha] It's okay, it's okay. I've taken some deep breaths and I'm calm now, but seriously! It's such a cute picture of the two of you! I will NEED details tomorrow girl! Be prepared to SPILL._

 _[01:57 Sweet Tsuyu to Group: We Run This Motha] Does Izuku know?_

 _[01:58 Queen Mina to Group: We Run This Motha] Oh shit, does he?_

 _[01:59 Jiro to Group: We Run This Motha] CAN'T THIS WAIT UNTIL A REASONABLE HOUR. JESUS._

 _[02:00 Queen Mina to Group: We Run This Motha] :D_

 _[06:58 Naegi Nobusuke] Morning, princess! I hope you slept well? I assume you've heard by now, but we're all over the Musutafu Medallion. They chose a good picture, if I do say so myself. Anyway, I hope to see more of you soon! I was thinking dinner Saturday? I know a few places that won't let the press inside, so we can have an actual conversation. Let me know!_

Uraraka flopped onto her stomach and pushed her hair out of her face. She quickly scrolled through the unread texts, groaning at Tsuyu's final question. Deku didn't know. At least, she hadn't said anything to him.

Would he care?

Did she care whether he cared?

Why did life have to happen at a pace quicker than her ability to process feelings? Maybe she just shouldn't leave her room. She could curl back into bed and let the gentle storm outside coax her back to sleep.

But that would be running away, and Uraraka was trying not to do that. Not that it mattered much, as Mina burst through her door moments later as Uraraka was brushing her teeth.

"I'm angry with you," the pink girl said, hopping up to perch on the bathroom counter next to Uraraka. The stern look on Mina's face was ruined by the smile she couldn't seem to suppress. "Naegi freaking Nobusuke! That's like...a _dream_ , Uraraka! Do you know how many girls would kill to be in your shoes right now?"

"Luh ope I dun fine ut," Uraraka mumbled around her toothbrush. She paused, spat, and looked at Mina again. "Let's hope I don't find out."

Mina squealed. "So you admit it then? You _are_ dating him?"

Uraraka's face felt incredibly hot, and looking in the mirror, she saw the familiar rouge blooming across her cheeks. Seeing it happen made her blush even more.

"Oy! Don't start that again," said Mina. "You can't just float away any time someone asks you a personal question."

Uraraka looked down. She hadn't even noticed that she'd activated her Quirk, but she was indeed floating a foot off the ground.

"Sorry," she said, releasing her power. "And I mean...I wouldn't call it _dating_ as we've never been on a date."

"But he said over lunch that he wanted to see you again, right?"

"Right…AndhemaybeinvitedmetodinneronSaturday." All this in one quick breath as she looked anywhere but at Mina.

"Oh. My. GOD. You've got to _lead_ with that! What are you going to wear? Can I do your makeup? What do you think you'll do with your hair? Where—"

"Mina, leave her alone, already!"

Salvation leaned against the doorframe in the form of Yaoyorozu.

"But Yaomomo—"

"Besides," the vice rep went on, ignoring Mina's protests as she started dragging the smaller girl out of the bathroom. "Uraraka's only spoken to the guy once. Why don't you wait until after they've had an actual date? Then there might be more...uh...juicy details?"

Mina groaned but allowed herself to be led out of the room. " _Fine_."

"And Uraraka?" Yaoyorozu said, in her typical 'let's find an adequate compromise' voice. "Maybe you could text Mina some of the details you're willing to share? I know you have a hard time talking about stuff like this in person, so maybe that way you could both be happy? Only if you want to share, of course!"

"Oh, um, yeah! Sure," Uraraka muttered, kicking herself for agreeing even to that.

"Wait!" said Mina, stopping in tracks and halting Yaoyorozu with her. "Wait, what did Deku say?"

"I uh...haven'ttalkedtohimyet."

"YOU WHAT?"

"I'll text you after I talk to him, okay? Besides, I don't think he'll really care…"

"You're _nuts—"_

"Out, Mina."

"Okay, okay, I'm going."

The door shut behind them and Uraraka sighed. Hopefully that was the worst of it. Hopefully telling Deku would be easier than she thought. Her phone dinged and she glanced at the screen, thinking it would be Mina berating her some more, but was surprised to see Yaoyorozu's icon blinking.

 _[07:34 YaoMomo] Also important: does Bakugo know?_

Uraraka rubbed her eyes to make sure she was reading the message properly.

 _[07:35 Me] Bakugo? What does he have to do with anything?_

 _[07:35 YaoMomo] Call it professional curiosity on my part._

 _[07:35 Me] Bakugo can't even remember my name, gods know he has no interest in my dating life._

 _[07:36 YaoMomo] If you say so…_

 _[07:36 Me] What's that's supposed to mean?_

 _[07:40 Me] Yaomomo?_

 _[07:48 Me] …_

Uraraka timed it so she was just sliding into her desk as Aizawa snaked into the room, his yellow sleeping bag making a familiar _whish_ across the floor. She could feel so many eyes on her, so many different people trying to get her attention, but Uraraka ignored them all and pretended to focus on Aizawa's roll call. Only once did she glance at Deku, and she found that he was ignoring her, too.

Bakugo was flipping lazily through a textbook, completely oblivious to Uraraka and her life, and Uraraka turned, caught Yaoyorozu's eye, and jerked her head in his direction to say _See?_

Yaoyorozu only raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips.

Homeroom ticked by. Aizawa made a few announcements about midterm exams and urged them all to begin studying even though the tests were still several weeks away. When he dismissed them for All Might's class, Uraraka's heartbeat quickened.

She made her way toward the door with the others, and as usual, fell into step between Deku and Iida, though the former still wasn't meeting her eye.

"Uraraka," Iida said, seemingly oblivious to the tension between his companions. "I heard some rather interesting news this morning. Mina informed me that you are in a relationship with that musician who saved you yesterday. Is this true?"

Uraraka wanted to activate her Quirk and fly to the moon. She clasped her hands in front of her and stammered, "I uh...not exactly...um...he seemed to like me? And uh...he hired my parents and stuff so that's good and...he sort of asked me to um...go to dinner with him?"

"Are you going?"

"Erm...I guess?"

"Uraraka." It was Deku. Uraraka turned to him, red in the face. She had to force herself to meet his eye.

"Y-yes?"

"Don't think that you're obligated to see him because he saved you." His voice was stern, concerned for a moment, but then he smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, do whatever you want, of course! But I just worried that you felt like maybe you had to date him because he saved you, but people save people all the time and it doesn't mean that anyone owes anyone anything!"

Uraraka sighed in relief even as something painful twisted in the pit of her stomach. She didn't _want_ Deku to be jealous or upset, but a part of her was still disappointed that he wasn't.

"It's not that," Uraraka assured him, waving her hands back and forth. "It wouldn't hurt to give him a chance, right?"

Deku nodded.

"I wish you the best then," Iida said jovially. They'd reached the entrance to Gym Gamma, where All Might was waiting.

When the class was gathered around, the teacher cleared his throat.

"This is your last day of practice with your partners before the exam tomorrow! I have seen excellent progress this week, but don't become idle today! I expect the very most out of all of you tomorrow. Are there any questions before we begin practice?"

Everyone shook their heads, eager to get started.

"In that case, put on your track suits and meet in the gym!"

When Uraraka entered the girls' locker room, the others were already there. Mina opened her mouth to say something, but Yaoyorozu kicked her in the shins.

" _Yaomomo_."

It was Tsuyu, carefully undoing her tie, who spoke. "Did you speak to Izuku, ribbit?"

"Yeah," Uraraka nodded. "He was worried that I was going out with Naegi out of obligation since he saved me. When I told him it wasn't that, he seemed happy for me."

"Izuku is a good friend, Ochako hun. And not very good at hiding his feelings. If he was genuinely upset, it would most likely be clear."

Uraraka nodded again, feeling that little twist in her stomach. "Is it…" she whispered so only Tsuyu could hear. "Is it terrible that some part of me hoped...hoped that he would maybe be jealous?"

Tsuyu gave her a sympathetic look. "It is not terrible of you, Ochako hun. Feelings are...complicated, ribbit. They are confusing. And I think you would be lying to yourself if you said that you have no feelings for Izuku. But...maybe you are confusing admiration with something more? I do not think you would want to see Naegi Nobusuke if your feelings for Izuku were deep."

"Thanks, Tsuyu hun."

"Of course, ribbit."

Uraraka exited the locker room with the others and made her way to the large, blocked off area of the gym floor that she and Bakugo had been using. He was already there, stretching.

"Hey," she greeted him.

He didn't even grunt in response.

"So what do you want to work on today?" she continued, falling into her own stretching routine and trying to ignore Yaoyorozu's voice in her head. _Does Bakugo know?_

He continued to ignore her.

"Bakugo, come on. What—"

"How about we work on getting away from a damn villain, since you're so incapable."

It stung, but then, she'd thought he might react this way, so she really couldn't be too surprised. All his talk last night about having another chance to try was just nonsense to fill the silence.

"Or maybe," he went on, red eyes somehow cold and blazing at the same time. "We could think about more ways to waste time, since you're clearly so good at it! You're lucky enough to have an internship with a pro and instead you spend all day yesterday on a godsdamned _date_? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I—"

"You have an internship and you couldn't even get away from that shitty ass villain? How weak _are_ you, fuckstick?"

Uraraka flinched at the return of that particular nickname and she knew she had two options: she could sit there and take the yelling or she could fight back. The first option was what had gotten her into this mess.

"The only person wasting time here is _you_ , Bakugo. The exam is tomorrow and we still need to practice."

"Tch. I changed my mind. I'm going back to the original plan—winning this on my own. I don't need your weak ass Quirk, so stay the fuck out of my way."

It was like a switch had been flipped. The Bakugo she'd spoken to last night had been...tolerable. Almost friendly, by Bakugo standards. But the boy in front of her now had anger etched all across his face, and the lines around his mouth and eyes were deepened by something else...frustration? Guilt? Uraraka wasn't sure. But whatever it was, it didn't excuse his behavior.

"Don't be like that—"

"Like what? Fucking serious about becoming a hero? Maybe you should try it sometime."

" _What?_ " Uraraka's voice was a screech, but she couldn't be bothered with manners after something like that.

Bakugo was already walking away, but she marched up behind him and grabbed his shoulder. She shoved it, forcing him to turn and face her.

"You think _I'm_ not serious?" she spat, the harsh edge in her voice surprising her. "What about _you_? You go on and _on_ about being the number one hero, but you spend all your time acting like a petulant child! You pick fights and explode and treat everyone like they're less than you. _That's_ not very heroic."

She regretted her words the second they left her mouth, but she wouldn't back down. Not from him.

(Yaoyorozu)

Uraraka was yelling.

 _Uraraka_ was yelling.

Perhaps the sweetest, kindest, most-willing-to-see-the-good-in-others girl in class 1-A was near shaking with rage as she stared Bakugo down several meters away. Uraraka was using her Quirk, floating about fifteen centimeters off the ground to make level eye contact with the blonde, who was meeting her anger with his own.

Yaoyorozu had worried this might happen.

Though she couldn't claim to be as thorough a study of her classmates' abilities as Midoriya, she was easily attuned to their emotional states. Growing up having to be on constant guard around her mother had taught her much about reading other people.

Bakugo wanted to be the number one hero. _The_ number one. He wanted to push himself beyond what any of his classmates could do, but he still expected them to try. He expected the most out of them so that he could look that much better by comparison, so that he could prove himself the best among the best. And Uraraka not being able to take down that villain on her own yesterday would be a great failure in Bakugo's eyes. People who were 'the best' didn't need help from others.

And then the fact that Uraraka was potentially _dating_ her savior made her seem all the more a damsel in distress, a maiden in a tower. Someone that needed to be saved, rather than a partner to fight alongside.

Bakugo didn't want weakness anywhere near him, and now he was pushing Uraraka away the day before the exam.

And Uraraka clearly wasn't having it.

"Should we stop them?" Yaoyorozu asked Midoriya, who was watching the confrontation as he stretched for their practice session.

He shook his head. "Kacchan lost respect for Uraraka yesterday. She has to prove herself to him again or they won't be able to work together."

"Bakugo is so stubborn."

"It's not just Kacchan," Midoriya said, nodding again in the direction of their feuding classmates. Uraraka hadn't given Bakugo an inch. "Uraraka's stubborn too. She probably, on some level, sees yesterday as a failure herself."

"And she won't be satisfied until she proves to both of them she isn't weak."

"Exactly."

Yaoyorozu sighed, pulling a bō from her shoulder. "Fine. But it it gets out of hand, I'm stepping in."

Midoriya nodded in agreement, sending one last glance toward Bakugo and Uraraka before falling into a fighting stance.

(Bakugo)

Bakugo was good at pushing people away, at knowing exactly what to say to piss someone off, and at having the guts to yell it in their face.

He was _exceptionally_ good at being angry. He prided himself on his rage, on his ability to shut out every other emotion and just burn burn _burn._

And Uraraka was like gasoline. He was crackling, blazing, searing, scorching.

It was _so easy_ , in the heat of this moment, to forget everything but those blistering brown eyes and the sweat that collected on his palms in the face of her.

She'd hate him for what he'd said, but he'd get one last good fight out of it before she walked away.

That's what he thought, at least, until she'd flipped the script and pushed _his_ buttons.

"You pick fights and explode and treat everyone like they're less than you. _That's_ not very heroic." She was in his face, unyielding and unafraid, an explosion waiting to happen.

Bakugo's eye twitched. But he had to suppress a smile.

He pushed back, his forehead pressing into hers as he growled, "Better than waiting around for someone to save my sorry ass like a weak, pathetic—"

"I am _not_ pathetic!" Uraraka exclaimed, slamming her hands into his chest and sending him skyward.

Bakugo had been waiting for it, and he pointed his hands up, blasting himself back toward the ground and aiming a kick at Uraraka's stomach. She rolled out of the way and released her Quirk, so Bakugo blasted himself straight into the floor. He landed and rolled away from Uraraka, springing back onto his feet and crouching low.

Uraraka's mouth was set in a hard line, and she charged at Bakugo, hands clenching into fists when she got close. She aimed a punch at his side, and Bakugo deflected it, pushing her past him and bringing his own hand down on her back. He started to activate his Quirk, but Uraraka floated away too fast and the explosion was nothing but fire and air.

"Hyah!" she yelled from above, releasing herself and falling feet-first toward him.

Bakugo grabbed her by the ankles, taking a hit to chest and staggering a step back in the process. He kept his grip on her and swung her body in a circle, letting go and throwing her toward the wall. Uraraka activated her Quirk again and flipped midair. She crouched high up on the wall, glaring down at him and searching for her best move.

"You can't run from me, Angelface!" Bakugo bellowed, using his Quirk to blast himself up at her. She dodged at the last second, grabbing him by the shoulders and flipping herself around to straddle him from behind. She released her Quirk again, the added weight propelling both of them back toward the ground.

They were falling fast, and she was positioned on top of him, ready to slam him face-first into the floor. Bakugo reached up and found the fabric of her shirt, grasping it and flinging her away from him. They both hit the cement and slid in opposite directions, neither having the time to use their Quirks to ease the landing.

 _POP!_

"Shit," Bakugo hissed, pain spiking through his left shoulder, which had taken the brunt of the impact. _Dislocated_ , he thought as he tried and failed to rotate the arm. " _Fuck_." The pain was amplified by the long scrape down his arm where the jacket of his tracksuit had ripped as it dragged across the ground. Blood welled and ran down his hand, sliding between his fingers and dripping to the floor. Never one to give up, Bakugo used his right arm to push himself to his feet. Like he needed two arms to beat Uraraka. She was probably done after that fall.

But several meters away, Uraraka was hauling herself back up. Her jacket was falling off her right shoulder, probably where Bakugo had grabbed it, and she was sporting an equally bloody scrape around that shoulder and onto her back, where her clothes were beginning to rip too. There was a matching series of cuts along her right temple and across her chin.

But she was still standing, and Bakugo's blood thrummed in response as he lowered his head and charged her.

Only to be met with a great wall of cement forced up between them.

"Wha—?" Uraraka's voice was muffled from beyond the barrier.

"That is enough, you two," All Might said, appearing beside Cementoss at the origin of the wall. The teachers waited a moment, glancing back and forth between Uraraka and Bakugo to ensure they wouldn't run at each other again as soon as the wall came down.

When it did, Bakugo didn't bother to look at Uraraka, and merely ground his teeth against the pain in his shoulder. He could handle Quirk-boosting grenadiers, but not a push from Ura-fucking-raka. _Godsdamnit._

"While sparring is always beneficial, that is not the point of this exercise," All Might went on, giving Bakugo a look that made him feel almost ashamed. Almost. "The two of you are a _team_. When you're in the field, you'll have to work with people that you don't get along with, so you might as well start learning now. I still have high hopes for your Quirk combinations."

"You should both go see Recovery Girl," Cementoss said. "You gave each other quite a beating."

"Tch. _Uraraka_ can go see Recovery Girl. Better get those scrapes taken care of so you can look good for the _press_. But I'm not going anywhere with her."

Before Uraraka could respond, their classmates started to gather around.

"You guys okay?" Kirishima asked.

Bakugo grunted to him, extending his left hand and nodding toward his throbbing shoulder. The redhead grimaced.

"You should really probably go see Recov—"

" _You'll_ need to go see Recovery Girl if you don't pop my godsdamned shoulder back into place _right fucking now._ "

"Okay, okay." He gripped Bakugo's outstretched hand and pulled slowly until another loud _POP_ echoed around the gym and Bakugo bit back a hiss as the pain surged and then subsided.

"What were you two even doing?" Kirishima asked, and Bakugo rolled his eyes at the fact that it was only Kirishima and Buzzbrain that stood beside him. Everyone else had swarmed Uraraka.

He rotated his shoulder a few times and cracked his neck. "I don't want some weak ass partner that loses fights to shitty villains like that one from yesterday. She didn't like it when I told her that."

"You _told_ her that?"

Buzzbrain whistled.

Kirishima crossed his arms. "Wait. Are you telling me that _Uraraka_ threw the first punch?"

Bakugo shrugged. "What of it?"

"I just wouldn't expect that from her is all."

"Yeah," Buzzbrain agreed. "She's just so sweet all the time it's hard to imagine her angry."

Bakugo merely grunted in response.

He _had_ made her angry, which had been the initial plan. He'd thought maybe if he said enough mean things to her she would fuck off and leave him alone. Then he could go back to ignoring her and pretending that his heart _didn't_ jump around erratically whenever she spoke to him.

In his mind, he would yell at her and she would tear up and run away, probably back to the damn nerd and that would be the end of it. He could take the exam alone in peace and _not_ think about the meaning behind his heart palpitations. And if she walked out, he wouldn't have to worry about the events of his nightmare becoming a reality.

But, just like everyone else, he had underestimated Uraraka Ochako.

She'd not only stood her ground, she'd pushed back, meeting him blow for blow. Uraraka didn't hold back, and she didn't expect him to either. She wasn't afraid of getting hurt. She wasn't afraid of _him_. She gave him the kind of fight he couldn't get enough of: the kind of fight that raged in his blood and dusted off rusty wheels in his mind.

She wasn't weak, and it pissed him off to no end that she had pretended to be weak in the face of the villain. It pissed him off that she had a reason to let the Pretty Fucker save her. It pissed him off that he couldn't figure it out.

It pissed him off that he cared enough to be pissed.

Bakugo's shoulder was sore and his head was beginning to throb. Kirishima was still talking, but Bakugo ignored him. He risked a glance at Uraraka, but she was already gone.

His last dig at her about the press had been pretty low, even Bakugo could admit that. Maybe it had been enough.

Bakugo rubbed his temples and followed the others toward the locker rooms. He just had to get through tomorrow. When they weren't project partners anymore, he could go back to ignoring her.

Maybe if he kept telling himself that, it would actually happen.

(Uraraka)

In...out….in….out….

Uraraka sat on the bench in the locker room, trying not to cry as the other girls chattered around her.

It wasn't the pain, or even Bakugo's harsh words that caused the tears. It was frustration—frustration at herself. She'd done the right thing in getting her parents that job. And Naegi was _nice_. So why did she feel so ashamed? Why did she feel like she was letting everyone down?

Why had she let Bakugo work her into a fight?

She knew the answer to _that_ at least—she'd been itching her prove herself again. Not to Deku, or Yaoyorozu, or any of her friends. They'd all been kind and understanding. No, she'd needed to prove herself to _Bakugo_. She couldn't stand the way he looked at her like she'd disappointed him.

He'd seen through her, known that she threw the fight and let Naegi save her, and he thought she was weak for that. Maybe she was, but Bakugo was the only one who'd say it to her face. She needed to make him have faith in her again.

Uraraka was a bit glad that Bakugo didn't just blindly believe her. She appreciated that he gave her the need to prove herself. Everyone else was willing to sit back and tell her that it was okay to make mistakes, but Bakugo would push and push until she fell off the edge or learned to fly.

Her phone buzzed, and she flipped it open to a text from her dad. It was a picture of her mom, standing in front of a large plot of land somewhere in the city, a huge grin on her round face as she held up two gleeful fingers to the camera. _Future home of the Naegi Building! Wish us luck!_

Uraraka swallowed her self-pity. Her parents were so happy. This job would be so good for them. Uraraka could get over one thrown fight.

"Ochako, hun, would you like me to walk with you to Recovery Girl?"

Uraraka looked up to see Tsuyu, back in her uniform, standing in front of her.

She shook her head and pulled some bandages out of her backpack instead. "I'm not going to Recovery Girl. It's just a few scrapes. I'll be fine."

Uraraka walked toward the sink and began cleaning out the blood and dust that had collected in her shoulder. It looked a lot worse than it actually was, and Uraraka didn't mind a little pain. It would remind her that she still had to work a lot harder to be a pro.

Besides, she'd dislocated Bakugo's shoulder today. Uraraka grinned at the thought. If the fight had been allowed to continue, he would have been at a serious disadvantage after that injury. A few cuts were nothing compared to that, and if he wasn't going to see the nurse, neither was she.

"Uraraka, you don't have to prove anything," said Yaoyorozu, coming up behind her and grabbing an extra rag to help get her back.

Uraraka grit her teeth. "Yeah, I do."

"If this is about that villain attack yesterday," said Mina. "You know we don't think less of you, right? And we're all here to talk if you ever want to."

Them not thinking less of her was the problem. It meant they didn't think enough of her to begin with.

"Would you all promise me something?" Uraraka asked quietly.

"What is it, hun?"

"I don't want you to ever go easy on me. If we're ever set against each other in a fight, don't pull any punches. And I'll do the same for you. We all have to push each other if we're going to get stronger and be the best we can be."

"That is true, ribbit. Villains are never going to go easy on us."

Yaoyorozu nodded. "It's a promise. Let's all hold each other accountable."

The others echoed her sentiment, and Uraraka smiled. She almost told them about what had happened yesterday, but Hamuro had sworn her to secrecy. Instead, she said, "I _do_ have something to prove. I know you don't think I'm weak for losing that that villain, but _I_ think I'm weak for it. Even if I don't need to prove myself to you, I need to prove myself to me."

Tsuyu smiled. "Thank you, Ochako, hun."

"For what?"

"For being so driven, ribbit. It inspires me to do better, too."

Uraraka felt her face heat up, but smiled again as she finished wrapping her shoulder and moved on to the cuts on her face.

"Thanks, Tsuyu, hun. So don't let me slack off, okay?"

"Deal."

(Shigaraki)

Across the city, in the taproom of an abandoned bar, Shigaraki Tomura stood in front of the screen. Toga's face was there, bored as ever, as she examined her nails.

"I'm still not happy about you loaning us to the Eight Precepts," said said, sighing. He could only assume she was still in Overhaul's headquarters, but the room around her was dark. "It's so _dull_ here."

"Just a bit longer, Toga," he said. "I'm not calling to check up on the serum. I have something else in mind."

"Oh?" she said, perking up and turning to the screen to look him in the eye. "And what's that?"

"I think Bakugo Katsuki could still be of use to us, especially now that All Might has retired."

Toga rolled her yellow eyes and went back to looking at her nails. "Bakugo isn't interested in joining us. He made that pretty clear when we kidnapped him."

"He might be if we had leverage against him." Shigaraki grinned beneath the hand that covered his face. "And I know just how to find that leverage."

"How?"

"You still have some of the blood from that bitch you fought when we attacked the U.A. camp, right?"

Toga's eyes lit up. "Ochako, hun! Yeah, I used some of it when I went to the Provisional License Exam, but I've still got a bit left. I was hoping to save it for something special. She's _so scrumptious!_ "

"Well hang onto it. We'll be needing it once you're back with me.

"I was hoping to use it to see dear Izuku—"

"Once this plan has succeeded, you can have as much of her blood as you want. But for now, _save it._ "

" _Fine_."

"Report back when the serum is finished."

"Yep."

Shigaraki ended the video call and scratched his neck. Bakugo was certainly a rough-around-the-edges kid, but everyone had a weakness. Everyone had something or someone they would do anything for. He hoped he could use this Uraraka Ochako to find out who or what it was for Bakugo Katsuki.

* * *

A/N: Next chapter is the exam!

Question: Is it canon that Bakugo's parents are in the fashion industry? Or is it just a kind of generally accepted thing in fanfic?

Per usual, reviews are the best! If you would, I'm looking for fic recommendations! Specifically Kacchako, obvs. Maybe something you've read that's not super popular? I feel like I've read all the really big ones. Things here or on AO3. Or if you write Kacchako, by all means let me know! I'm going to take this moment to shout out _Black_ by BiggySayles and _The Hard Road_ by wthtonibelle. :D

Much love, until next time.


	8. Chapter 8: Fight, Flag, and Frown

A/N: Your lovely reviews are absolutely the bomb! You guys rock my socks.

This is the exam! For ease of reading, here are the teams again: Uraraka/Bakugo (Purple), Deku/Yaoyorozu (White), Mina/Kirishima (Yellow), Todoroki/Asui (Black), Jiro/Hagakure, Shoji/Koda (Red), Iida/Tokoyami (Blue), Aoyama/Sero (Pink), Kaminari/Mineta (Green), and Ojiro/Sato (Orange).

* * *

Chapter Eight: Fight, Flag, and Frown

(Uraraka)

Even in sleep, Bakugo's face was all deep lines and frustration. He lay on one of the beds in Recovery Girl's office, a light sheen of sweat dusted across his forehead, and Uraraka wondered if he was in the midst of some unknowable nightmare.

She sat on the next bed over, waiting for him to wake up and hoping it wouldn't be for some time yet. She was torn between wanting to throw her arms around him and apologize and wanting to punch him in the face so hard he wouldn't wake up again for a long, long time. Currently, she was leaning toward the latter.

"You're such a dummy, Bakugo," she muttered, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands as she watched the rise and fall of his chest. "We probably could've _really_ won if you hadn't been so stubborn."

But of course, there was no response from her sleeping teammate, though the lines in his face seem to smooth just slightly, and Uraraka wondered if perhaps whatever dream he was drowning in could be calmed. She leaned forward a bit more, her feet dangling off the side of the bed.

"We've got remedial lessons now, you know," she continued, voice soft. She wasn't sure what else to tell him but the truth. "Sundays and Mondays for the foreseeable future. If you were trying to get rid of me, you screwed up _royally._ "

(Two Hours Earlier, Bakugo)

Class 1-A was suited up in full hero gear and standing in the lobby of U.S.J., waiting for All Might to give the instructions for their exam. Most of the teams were standing together, but Bakugo made a point to put several people between himself and Uraraka. They hadn't spoken since their fight the day before, though Uraraka had made a few attempts at conversation. He'd brushed her off entirely, pretending that ignoring her lessened the erratic beating of his heart.

"Welcome to the exam!" All Might announced, going into his hero form to smile broadly at them before reverting. He had a box under one arm and a clipboard in his hand. "The rules are going to be simple. In this box, I have belts and flags for each of you. You will strap the belt around your waist and hang two flags from it. The objective is to steal the flags of other teams while protecting your own. You may not steal two flags from the same person! For example, Midoriya and Yaoyorozu are a team and Todoroki and Asui are a team. Midoriya may take one of Todoroki's flags and one of Asui's flags, and Yaoyorozu can take the other two, thus knocking out Todoroki and Asui. Midoriya _cannot_ take both flags from Todoroki. Is that clear?"

There were nods from the class.

"If all four of your team's flags are taken, your team is OUT. You should report back here once that happens. But say Midoriya loses both his flags, but Yaoyorozu still has a flag remaining, they are both still in. You will have the entirety of U.S.J. to run, hide, and fight. Use the space to your advantage!"

"All Might, sir?"

"Yes, Young Jiro?"

"Is it possible for one team member to hold all four of the team's flags? Hagakure's Quirk is kind of dependent on not wearing anything extra."

All Might thought for a moment. "I suppose that would be acceptable. Though doing so would mean that individuals could take two flags off of you at once."

Earphones nodded. "Risk vs. reward."

"I also have a question, sir!" The four eyed class rep exclaimed, hand in the air.

"Yes, Young Iida?"

"Is there a time limit?"

"There is no time limit! I've already spoken to the other teachers in case we go over our class time. You will fight until there is only one team left standing. Oh! That reminds me," All might said, grinning a bit maniacally. "The three lowest scoring teams will be taking remedial lessons with myself and some of the other teachers. When we've deemed you ready, you will compete again with the bottom three teams from Class B to up your grades."

He began passing out flags, giving each team a different color.

"Remember," All Might said, speaking to the class but looking Bakugo in the eye as he handed him a set of purple flags. "This exam is testing teamwork!"

Bakugo merely grunted and looked anywhere except at Uraraka.

"You'll have five minutes to get into positions! By all means, choose a strategic location to begin in! Everyone ready?"

Class 1-A finished buckling their belts and nodded.

"Then...BEGIN!"

The class scattered. Bakugo watched as teammates ran toward locations that could benefit them both. Half-and-Half and Froggy would most likely go to the Flood zone—Half-and-Half wasn't too keen on using fire anyway. Earlobes and Uniform were probably going to the Landslide zone, Buzzbrain and the perv could do some serious damage in the Downpour. The list went on.

 _If_ he were working with Uraraka, their best bet would easily be the Ruins. There would be plenty of loose rock for Uraraka to wield and the crumbling buildings provided for great maneuverability.

So Bakugo set off in the direction of the Conflagration zone.

"Don't you think the Ruins might be better?"

Bakugo rolled his eyes as Uraraka appeared beside him, walking with him like they hadn't beaten each other senseless the day before. She hadn't apologized for any of it, and he didn't expect her to. _He_ certainly didn't plan on apologizing. But why did she seem to have forgiven him anyway?

"What are you doing here, fuckstick?"

She blinked and said simply, "We're a team." And then plowed on ahead of him toward the Conflagration zone.

Infuriating.

"Oy, shouldn't you be going to the Ruins?" He picked up his pace, trudging after her and fidgeting with his left grenadier. He'd thought about equipping only the right one, since his shoulder still ached like a motherfucker, but he didn't want to give Uraraka the satisfaction of knowing she'd done some solid damage.

Uraraka shrugged. " _I_ think that would be better for both of us. But if you're going to be stubborn and go this way, so am I. Besides, I know you enough to know you hate losing, so I don't think you'd make an intentionally bad choice here. The Conflagration zone will have plenty of rubble for me to work with too."

"Are you fucking stupid?" Bakugo spat, willing the hard edge into his voice and cursing himself for having to do so. "I said I was doing this on my own so _stay out of my way_."

Hurt flitted into her eyes and back out again and she stopped at the entrance to the Conflagration zone.

"Our fight yesterday didn't change your mind on that?" she asked. Her voice was quiet, but firm.

"Hell no." He hated the fact that he couldn't quite meet her eyes, for fear of the heart palpitations and inability to think straight that came with looking into them.

Uraraka sighed. "All Might said the lowest scoring teams would have to take remedial lessons. We don't know how they're going to score us, so don't you think it would be better to do what we're supposed to?"

"All Might also said we'd fight until there's only one team left standing. _I_ intend to be that team. No way the winner gets the lowest score."

"You realize Aizawa-sensei is helping All Might with the scoring, right? He would totally do something like that."

Bakugo doubted that. No one could deny an outright victory.

He grunted. "Do whatever the fuck you want, but I don't have time for weakness."

She sighed again, a mere puff of air through her nose, and when she spoke, her voice was soft. "Fine. I get it. I couldn't beat that villain and now you think I'm weak. _I get it_. But I'm not weak. I'll be in the Ruins if you want me to prove it."

She brushed by him, and it wasn't until after he'd watched her jog away that he realized she'd taken the weight from his left grenadier, the soreness in his shoulder receding slightly.

So she'd noticed even though he'd tried to hide it. And she'd helped him even though he'd been an ass.

Gods damn it all.

(Uraraka)

Uraraka was hiding in a mostly destroyed building when the whistle blew to signal the start of the exam. She floated near one of the upper windows, giving herself a good view of the street outside and the doorway below. The floors had been completely blown out and the windows we nothing but shattered glass on the ground.

Shoji and Koda were in the Ruins, and she bet that Mina and Kirishima were too. The latter team would be the ones to go for—Shoji had way too many eyes to try to sneak up on him.

Sure enough, Kirishima and Mina traipsed by moments later, yellow flags blaring at their waists.

Unless her ears deceived her, Shoji and Koda were fighting someone else several streets away, and Uraraka took it as her chance. She used the wall to lower herself to the ground and released her Quirk, tiptoeing on silent feet and keeping to the shadows as she stalked her classmates through the Ruins.

Mina and Kirishima both had their eyes focused ahead, talking in hushed tones about who could be fighting in the street beyond, and Uraraka eased herself toward them, melting out of the shadow of a crumbling building and snagging a flag from Mina's belt before the alien girl had time to react.

"Hey—Uraraka!"

Kirishima whirled around, bracing for a fight, his eyes scanning the alley behind Uraraka, clearly waiting for Bakugo to appear.

So Uraraka dashed forward and slammed an elbow upward into his chin. She ducked out of Mina's reach as she tried to snag her from behind. Uraraka grabbed Mina's arm, flipped her over her shoulder, and activated her Quirk on the taller girl in one fluid motion. Mina floated upward, her fingers brushing one of Uraraka's flags but unable to grasp it before she was out of reach.

Kirishima had staggered backward at the unexpected blow, but recovered, keeping one eye on the entrance to the alley should Bakugo appear.

"I'd really rather _not_ fight a girl…" he mumbled, rubbing his throat.

"Your loss, then," Uraraka said, a small smile spreading across her face. She lunged at Kirishima, but acid rained down between them.

"Don't count me out just yet, Uraraka!" Mina said.

Uraraka's smile didn't falter. She knew how hard it was to control one's direction in zero gravity. She just had to lead Kirishima away from his floating teammate, and the bend in the alley behind him would be the perfect place to go.

" _When fighting an opponent who is larger than you or stronger than you," Gunhead had told her. "You must show no fear. Treat every fight as if you've already won it. Meet them head on."_

She rushed Kirishima, body low in order to protect her own flags. He dodged her lunge, dancing backward just as she'd expected—he didn't want to hurt her, so he would try to evade. Uraraka planned to use that to her advantage.

Quick on her feet, she made another immediate lunge toward him, dodging an acid splash from above and nearly grabbing Kirishima's flag in the process. He moved backward again, his body in a defensive stance as he ducked around the corner.

"Oy!" shouted Mina, spinning involuntarily in the air. "Don't get too far away! She's probably leading you right to Bakugo!"

Her statement was Kirishima's undoing. He pivoted, looking around behind him for Uraraka's partner, but of course, he wasn't there. Uraraka used his distraction to grab a flag from his belt and press her fingers into his side.

"I didn't mean _ignore_ her, you dummy!" Mina moaned as Kirishima floated above the crumbled building he'd been hiding behind.

" _Damn it!_ " said Kirishima, still looking around. "You can come out now Bakugo!"

Uraraka smiled sweetly up at him as she tied their flags around her wrist. "Bakugo's in the Conflagration zone. Just me here."

A squeaky "fufufu" from the alley entrance made Uraraka whirl around, coming face-to-face with Mineta and Kaminari, both looking out of breath and a little worse for wear. Mineta was already missing a flag. Realizing they'd been spotted, Kaminari jumped forward to grab her, but Uraraka was able to dodge out of the way, ducking under his arm and rolling to the side. She jumped up into a defensive crouch, trying to not underestimate Mineta and give Kaminari all her focus.

But Shoji's dupli-arms suddenly wrapped around her as he and Koda appeared from inside a ruined building to her left.

 _Crap_ , Uraraka thought. She should've guessed that Kaminari and Mineta had been fighting Shoji and Koda before. She should've been expecting the second team to show up.

"Mineta, Grape Rush! Now!" Kaminari yelled, and Mineta started throwing pop-offs at Uraraka and Shoji as fast as he could pull them off his head. Shoji had Uraraka's arms pinned to her sides, and he dodged Mineta by rolling behind a pile of rubble with her in tow. She felt something sticky cling to the bandages around her right shoulder, and knew that Mineta had hit her at least once. The solidness of the contact led her to believe that she was now stuck to Shoji.

Crackling, popping electricity sparked from the other side of the rubble, and Uraraka knew that Kaminari was charging up a hit to shock them while they were thrown off guard, but Uraraka wouldn't let him.

"Jump!" she hissed at Shoji, pressing her mostly pinned hands into whatever part of his side she could reach and activating her Quirk on him and herself simultaneously.

He did as she said and the two flew upward just as a great shock wave rocked the ground where they'd been standing and caused several of the buildings surrounding the alley to collapse. Lightning jumped around through the metal debris below her, easily visible even through the dust. Her hand brushed one of Shoji's flags, and she grabbed it, just as she felt one of her own slide out of her belt.

"No hard feelings," Shoji muttered through a mouth he created on the end of one of his arms, and Uraraka saw Mineta's missing green flag wrapped around his wrist. He let go of her, but they were still stuck together, the back of her shoulder to the front of his, and they floated above a fight that was breaking out between Koda, Kaminari, and Mineta. "Damn it," he hissed, trying to pull them apart, but the pop-off ripped at his bare skin.

"I got it," Uraraka said, yanking off her bandages. She winced when the bloody mess stuck to Shoji. "The stickiness will wear off eventually…"

She pushed away from him and observed the fight below her. Kaminari seemed to be reaching an overload point, but he had one of Koda's red flags gripped tightly in his hand.

Without another word to Shoji, Uraraka released herself, leaving him floating with Mina and Kirishima in the dust clouds. Koda and Kaminari were preoccupied with each other, and Uraraka set her mouth in a hard line as she stalked up to Mineta. His head was beginning to bleed and he tried to scuttle away as she approached him.

"Uraraka! Heh...I hope you know I didn't mean—eep!"

She'd used a sweeping kick to knock his legs out from beneath him. Stepping back, she glared down at him. "That was a warning. Stand up and fight."

"Well...uh...hand to hand isn't really my thing. Maybe we could—" He made a lunge for her flag, clearly hoping to catch her off guard, but Uraraka stepped out of the way, bringing another kick down on his back.

She sighed. It wasn't even satisfying to beat him.

"I'm not going to be cruel," she said, snagging his bright green flag and pressing the pads of her fingers into his back before he could stand. She started to walk away, hoping to grab a flag from the brain-fried Kaminari before looking for another team to face, but she paused and turned back to Mineta, who was turning red in the face as he floated upside down. "You know...if you'd just stop being such a creep, we'd probably all like you."

Koda had disappeared, likely trying to find a way to get Shoji down, and Uraraka walked up to Kaminari, who was dazed and giving a thumbs-up to a nearby building. She took his remaining green flag and sent him skyward with the others.

"Not bad, Ochako," she muttered to herself, tying the three new flags to her wrist.

She left the Ruins with a small smile spreading across her face.

(Meanwhile, Bakugo)

Of fucking _course_ there was no one in the damned Conflagration zone.

He'd gone building to building, blasting walls and windows and anything else that got in his way, but none of his classmates appeared. They'd probably known this is where he'd go and avoided it.

"FUCK," he spat, slamming his fist into a wall and wiping sweat from his forehead as the fire blazed around him.

" _TEAM KAMINARI AND MINETA IS OUT!"_ All Might's amplified voice echoed over the sound system.

 _It better be thanks to Uraraka,_ Bakugo thought before he could stop himself. _Shit. Fuck all, Angleface._ _Get out of my head._

He needed to find some other teams. It had been at least fifteen minutes since the exam had started, and Bakugo had wasted his time doing nothing. He wouldn't go to the Ruins, he wouldn't give Uraraka the satisfaction. But he needed to get out of the Conflagration zone.

Neither Flood nor Downpour were an option, but the Landslide zone wouldn't be terrible.

Letting loose a string of curses under his breath, Bakugo trudged back toward to entrance.

" _TEAM ASHIDO AND KIRISHIMA IS OUT! TEAM OJIRO AND SATO IS OUT! TEAM SERO AND AOYAMA IS OUT!"_

Damn. He needed to get a move on if he was going to be part of _any_ of the action. He couldn't let Uraraka take all the credit when they won. At least three teams were already out, so at least there was no concern for remedial lessons.

" _TEAM SHOJI AND KODA IS OUT!"_

He was leaving the Conflagration zone when he spotted her. The central plaza was in chaos, and Uraraka was at the heart of it, facing off against the four-eyed class rep and Birdboy while Half-and-Half, the class vice rep, Froggy, and fucking Deku were in a four-way battle not far away.

Bakugo quickly scanned her head to toe. She was missing a flag, the bandages around her shoulder had been torn off and it looked a bloody mess, and dust and grime coated her just about everywhere. She had a shit ton of flags tied around her left wrist—from this distance, he could count three different colors at least.

And she was smiling like fucking All Might as she fought.

Birdboy was on the four eyed rep's back, Dark Shadow shrouding both of them so Uraraka had no opening. She wiped sweat from her brow and backed toward the other fighting group, lining herself up so she was heading right toward Half-and-Half, who _once a-fucking-gain_ was using his fire against the nerd.

She kept an eye on Half-and-Half as she moved, making it appear that she was trying to use the chaos to get away altogether. The four-eyed rep followed her, and Uraraka waited—she was impossibly patient as a fighter—until Half-and-Half blasted fire in her direction. She shot up into the air and four-eyes stopped just short of the flames, but Dark Shadow shrieked away for a moment, giving Uraraka the opening she needed. She dropped herself straight down on the class rep, snatching a blue flag from his belt and pressing her hand into her chest.

But Birdboy clung to him, weighing him down and keeping him earthbound. Uraraka danced away, barely dodging a swipe from the recovered Dark Shadow.

Bakugo watched the next part in slow motion, flags slipping out of belts and floating through the fight of their accord—Uniform. First Froggy, then Half-and-Half, then the class rep, and Bakugo would bet that Uraraka was next.

"Oy, round face—" he started to shout, but Uraraka was already in the air. Whether it was luck or intuition, Bakugo didn't know, but her flag remained firmly in her belt.

 _BA-BOOM! BA-BOOM! BA-BOOM!_

A great, steady blast of sound rocked the plaza, and everyone fighting stopped and clapped their hands over their ears, a few dropping to their knees as it shook them. Bakugo, who was far enough away to avoid the worst of it, watched Uraraka wobble in air, and took the distraction as his chance to act.

Keeping an eye out for Earphones, he dashed toward his stunned classmates, clearing the distance between himself and the others in a few long leaps. It was almost too easy to slam a fist into the back of the class rep's neck and bring him down. Too easy to blast an explosion in the face of Dark Shadow and disable Birdboy with a few quick bursts of light and a kick to the side of the head. He snatched a flag from each and dash toward Half-and-Half and the class vice rep, who were both kneeling and looking a bit dazed after Earphone's soundwave.

" _TEAM IIDA AND TOKOYAMI IS OUT!"_

"Oy, Angelface! Get down here and grab the other flags!" Bakugo yelled. If she could just clean up behind him, they'd be golden.

Without bothering to check if she listened, Bakugo lunged for Half-and-Half, easily dodging the ice that blasted haphazardly toward him. The dual wielder blinked, trying and failing to focus on Bakugo as he snatched the only flag, a black one, from his belt.

" _TEAM TODOROKI AND ASUI IS OUT!"_

The vice rep had a single white flag on her belt, which Bakugo snatched easily. All Might didn't declare her out, so Bakugo looked around wildly for Deku, but instead, he saw Uraraka dash toward the edge of the plaza—no doubt looking for Earphones and Uniform.

Then there was Deku, swaying and shaking his head, but still standing before him.

Bakugo didn't hesitate. He jumped toward the shorter boy, explosions going off in both hands as he slammed into him. Deku attempted to parry, sending a knee toward Bakugo's stomach, but Deku had been fighting for half an hour and Bakugo was more or less still fresh, so he dodged it easily and slammed a fist into the side of Deku's head, dazing him further. Bakugo wasted no time in ramming his own knee into Deku's stomach, and he doubled over in pain to give Bakugo easy access to his last flag. He reached for it, but Deku wasn't one to give up so easy. He used his Quirk on his legs and jumped high in the air as another _BA-BOOM!_ echoed through the building.

The soundwave rattled Bakugo's bones and crashed his teeth together, giving him an instant splitting headache. In the air, Deku, like Uraraka, was spared the worst of it, and Bakugo watched with blurry vision as fucking nerd descended on him. He blinked once, twice. All he needed to do was grab the white flag at Deku's waist. He could take one hit if it meant putting Deku out of the fight. Instead of dodging, Bakugo blinked away the blurry vision and allowed Deku's foot to slam into his chest while he reached up and pulled the last flag loose. He managed it, but the kick was stronger than Bakugo realized, sending his body reeling backward and cracking his head against the floor.

And then everything went suddenly to black.

(Uraraka)

Uraraka snatched the last flag off Jiro's floating form just as she extended an earlobe and plugged it into the ground. The sound wave that reverberated through the building was enough to make Uraraka unsteady in the air, but she'd already won.

" _TEAM MIDORIYA AND YAOYOROZU IS OUT! TEAM JIRO AND HAGAKURE IS OUT! TEAM URARAKA AND BAKUGO IS THE LAST TEAM STANDING!"_

"I wouldn't say 'standing,'" quipped Jiro, nodding towards where Bakugo lay unconscious on the ground. Uraraka had felt more than seen Deku take her teammate down, but Bakugo had still had two flags on his belt. Even if Deku grabbed one, they'd still have two flags between them.

Uraraka released her Quirk, dropping the classmates she'd floated throughout the test as well as Bakugo's grenadier and various debris she'd picked up along the way. Her stomach flipped, but she held down the nausea—every day was an improvement.

All Might and Aizawa met the students in the central plaza. Bakugo was out cold and Kaminari was still overloaded, but otherwise, everyone was on their feet and seemingly in good condition.

"Well done, everyone!" All Might said when he appeared. "You showed some incredible teamwork out here today!"

Uraraka felt her face heat up. She and Bakugo had hardly spoken to each other, much less worked together.

"I will let Aizawa do the honors of announcing the placement for the exam!" All Might continued. "Remember, the bottom three teams will be joining myself, Aizawa, Midnight, and the lowest scoring members of Class 1-B in remedial lessons!"

Aizawa looked annoyed to be asked to speak, and glared at all of them individually.

"I'll make this fast," he said. "In first place—Jiro and Hagakure. Second—Iida and Tokoyami. Third—Midoriya and Yaoyorozu. Fourth—Asui and Todoroki. Fifth—Koda and Shoji." Uraraka felt her heart sinking. She'd known they'd be scoring based on teamwork. She'd told Bakugo as much. And she knew that Aizawa wouldn't waver from that. They were probably in serious trouble, even though they'd gotten so many flags. "Sixth—Aoyama and Sero. Seventh—Ojiro and Sato. Eighth, and first of the remedial teams—Kaminari and Mineta. Ninth—Kirishima and Ashido. And in last place—Uraraka and Bakugo."

She couldn't say she was surprised, but looking down at all the flags tied around her wrist and knowing she'd been in dead last all along made Uraraka want to cry or punch something. The others were giving her sympathetic looks, even Mina, who'd been floating for the whole exam and still managed to do better than her.

"Remedial students," All Might said, smiling at them in spite of the fact that he was punishing them. "Report to classroom 1-A on Sunday at 11:00 sharp. Now, it appears Young Bakugo and Kaminari need to be taken to Recovery Girl."

"I'll take Kacchan," Deku volunteered, his face turning red as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I might have gone too hard on him."

But Uraraka stepped forward. "That's okay, Deku. He's my partner I'll take him."

"Are y-you sure?"

"Mm," said Uraraka, nodding. "I need Recovery Girl to revive him so I can knock him out myself."

"I do not understand," Tsuyu said, looking from Aizawa to All Might. "Ochako and Bakugo took so many flags. How did they lose?"

"Because this was a test of teamwork, Young Asui. Bakugo and Uraraka did not work together once through the exam. They did well individually, but that was not the point."

"I'm sorry, All Might-sensei, Aizawa-sensei," Uraraka said as she walked past them to get to Bakugo. "We were too stubborn to step up to the task. I promise we'll do better in the make-up exam."

They nodded to her and Uraraka pressed her fingers to Bakugo's chest, lifting him off the floor and grabbing him by the ankle to drag him along. On the way, she hooked her free arm through Kaminari's and steered him along with her.

"Come on, silly," she mumbled to him. He gave her a thumbs-up and let her lead him outside and back to the main building, where Recovery Girl was waiting in her office.

-One Hour Later-

Kaminari had been recharged and left some time ago, but Bakugo was sound asleep on one of the beds in Recovery Girl's office. Uraraka waited on the next bed over, studying his face as the lines there deepened and smoothed and deepened again.

"You're such a dummy, Bakugo," she muttered, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands as she watched the rise and fall of his chest. "We probably could've _really_ won if you hadn't been so stubborn."

When he slept on, she continued, "We've got remedial lessons now, you know. Sundays and Mondays for the foreseeable future. If you were trying to get rid of me, you screwed up _royally._ "

He stirred a bit, eyebrows furrowing and mouth turning downward.

"I know you didn't want me as a partner, and I know you think I'm weak, but we're going to have to work together to up our grade. I'll prove it you. I'll make you see that I'm not as weak as you think...I'll prove it to me too." The last part was under her breath, more to herself than to him, but Bakugo finally cracked one red eye and observed her through the corner of it.

"Wrong," he muttered.

"Huh?" Uraraka asked, jumping as she realized he might've actually heard what she'd been saying.

"You're wrong." His voice was thick and groggy with sleep, but he pushed himself up onto his elbows and glanced around the room.

"About what, exactly?"

He looked at her then, his eyes meeting hers and boring into them. He sat there for a long moment before he said, "I never thought you were weak."

Uraraka felt the heat rise in her face and had to look away from his piercing stare. Maybe he was tired, but this wasn't the Bakugo she was used to interacting with. The fire was still there, but the fury had dimmed. He had an intensity about him that wasn't just aggression.

"W-what—"

"You're strong, round face. Any moron with eyes should be able to see that. But you pretended to be weak with that villain and it pissed me the fuck off."

Her stomach flipped and Uraraka stared at the floor. He was right. He could see straight through her. He was the only one who knew what she was and knew that she was better than that crappy 'villain' Naegi had set on her. He was the only one who'd questioned it.

It scared her and thrilled her simultaneously.

"What were you even doing? Fuck if I care, but I hate that I can't figure it out. _Why_ let someone else save you?"

"For my parents." The words were out of her mouth before she realized she'd uttered them, and Uraraka quickly slapped both hands over her lips and prayed he hadn't been listening.

" _Your parents?_ "

Crap.

Not knowing what else to do, she nodded.

" _What the fuck does that mean?"_

"It's kind of a long story."

"And I'm kind of stuck in a damn hospital bed."

She wasn't sure if it was losing the exam or the fight the day before or the frustration that had been building since she'd let Naegi save her or what. She didn't know if she trusted Bakugo or feared him or wanted to be his friend. But Uraraka took a deep breath and met the challenge in his eyes.

"My parents work in construction, but their style is...unique. They don't just build standard buildings or homes and honestly, they've had a hard time getting work because of it. It's worse that they don't have Quirks to help them out—my dad can double the weight of anything he touches and my mom can make her body weightless, but nothing else. Not even her clothes. So it's more or less useless compared to the Quirks that corporate construction companies can recruit…"

She paused, waiting for him to stop her. Surely he was already bored and done and over it. But he was just sitting there, an expectant look on his face.

"Um, well yeah, so they have a really hard time finding work," Uraraka went on, squirming a bit under his focus. "So we've been...you know...kind of poor." She shouldn't even be telling him this. It was so...personal. She'd barely told Deku and Iida, but she still wanted to prove herself, to justify everything, especially to the person who seemed to take her at more than face value. "They both work night jobs at other places and I worked after school and during breaks before getting into U.A. That...that's the reason I want to become a successful hero…" Her voice dropped and she stared down at her hands folded in her lap. "I want to make enough money to support them and make life easier for them, since they've worked so hard all these years for me."

Bakugo "tched" then and Uraraka's eyes shot to his, but he turned his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What?" she asked. She'd been surprised when Deku and Iida had been so understanding and supportive of her goals, but she should've known that Bakugo would think it was dumb.

He gave her a hard look. "You expect me to believe that?"

"W-what?"

"Are you stupid, round face?"

"I mean I'm telling you the truth so I don't really see what your problem is…"

Bakugo sighed a bit dramatically, and Uraraka almost smiled at the sight of his Bakugo Rage Aura so adequately contained by the cozy-looking blanket still draped across his lap.

"You're the one with the problem," he growled. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and tossed the blanket away, leaning forward so they were face-to-face. " _One:_ If your parents were really 'working hard' for you all these years, why didn't they find a better job? Why stick to something they couldn't be successful at? And _two_ : you can't possibly tell me that your main drive in becoming a hero is to make money. I've seen you fight; I've seen the look on your face. You fucking _love_ it."

It threw her.

Because...it was _true_. The second part, at least. She'd never really thought about it—not since coming to U.A. She'd spent her childhood wanting to be a hero for her parents, and she'd never really grown out of that dream, even as her own desires were changing. Of course she still wanted to help her parents, but _enjoying_ hero work had never really been a concern. Uraraka had always thought that when she became a hero, it would be like any other job—you did it because you had to. _Liking it_ had never even occurred to her.

But Bakugo was right. She loved it.

"Don't talk about my parents like that," she said instead of acknowledging the truth of his second statement. "You don't know anything about them and you have no right."

"Tch." He looked like he wanted to say more on the matter, but instead he shook himself and asked, "How the fuck is any of this related to that damn villain?"

Uraraka ran a nervous hand through her hair. "W-well…"

"Spit it out, round face."

She took a deep breath and spoke very quickly. "Naegi said that he liked me and that he'd give my parents a job if I agreed to go out with him, but then Hamuro said that we had to have a 'public' meeting and that was where that villain came in and it was all staged and I feel like an idiot because I totally could have beat him if it had been real but no one else seemed to think that I could and—"

"Oy! Breath, shit-wit!"

Uraraka did so, gulping in air and glancing at Bakugo out of the corner of her eye. His brow was furrowed, red eyes narrowed as he considered what she'd said.

"I fucking _knew_ you threw that fight," he muttered. Then, more seriously, he said, "You're telling me that you're dating this guy because he's paying your parents for it?"

Uraraka winced. "It sounds worse when you said it like that. But I mean, there are still things like dowries and Quirk marriages and this is only dating so I don't really see the big deal."

"So it's different from being an escort?"

Uraraka's entire face heated at that, and she shook her head vigorously as she squeaked, " _Yes!_ "

"How?"

"Well, you know, we don't...we haven't... _Bakugo you can't ask me things like that!_ " She felt her back bump into something solid and realized she'd activated her Quirk in her embarrassment and floated up to the ceiling, knees curled to her chest and hands covering her face.

He sighed again and rolled his eyes at her. "Get down, idiot. I didn't mean...you know."

" _Right_."

"I didn't!"

Uraraka released herself back onto the bed across from his, noting that the tips of his ears had turned pink with embarrassment.

He growled and looked away from her. "I only meant that you shouldn't live your life for you parents. Do you really think they want you to waste all you time helping them? Be a hero because you actually fucking want to—because you _do_ want to, it's obvious. Do it because you like it, not for anyone else. And the same goes for all that bullshit with that pretty fucker. If you don't want to lose to a shitty ass villain, then _don't_. Forget what anyone tells you to do."

"But—"

"No 'buts.' It's your godsdamned life, isn't it?"

It was Uraraka's turn to sigh. "You're right, Bakugo. You are. But I'm never going to stop wanting to help my parents. If I end up enjoying what I do, then that's an added bonus."

"Do whatever the fuck you want, round face, but living you entire life for someone else isn't really living."

He _was_ right, and part of her knew that the reason she'd always gravitated toward hero work _wasn't_ the fact that it could be one of the highest paying jobs in the country. It had always been something a little deeper, something inside her that couldn't let it go. But she'd always pushed the thought away, thinking it was selfish of her to want to do something so dangerous for her own happiness.

But here she was anyway.

"Did we win at least?" Bakugo asked gruffly, flopping back onto his bed in an undignified manner.

"Er…about that…"

"Don't tell me we managed to lose THREE flags at the very end of the fight."

He was glaring at her. Any connection they'd had was blasted away by his usual rage.

"No!" she said, waving her hands in front of her. "We were the last team standing. But because we didn't show any teamwork, we didn't win."

"If you tell me we have remedial lessons I will fucking _end_ you."

"Right, welp, I gotta go," Uraraka said, hopping up and half sprinting toward the door. As she was closing it behind her, she continued, "And we have remedial lessons at eleven on Sunday. Okay, bye!"

She braced herself for the explosion, but there was only silence from behind the door.

(Bakugo)

He wasn't smiling.

He _wasn't_. Godsdamnit.

He was just trying his hand at reverse-frowning.

Not like he had anything to smile about anyway—remedial lessons on top of his provisional license classes, an embarrassing conversation with Ura-fucking-raka, the fact that she was basically selling herself and getting nothing out of it.

And then there was the fact that she couldn't admit she liked being a hero—she probably thought it was selfish of her to actually want something for herself.

Dumbass.

But she'd waited for him to wake up.

Bakugo groaned and rubbed his hands down his face. He should've listened to her in the first place, should've just worked with her to get through the exam. He'd been so hell bent on winning the damn thing and getting away from her that he hadn't bothered to consider losing as an option.

It was like she turned off his logical reasoning abilities, like she made the contents of his brain float around until they turned to mush. And he wanted to do everything in his power to disagree with her and he wound up making stupid decisions because of it.

It was all the worse now knowing that she didn't even like the pretty fucker and that she probably was still obsessed with the damn nerd.

But she hadn't mentioned Deku once.

Bakugo wanted to just explode his face, to wipe that damn smile away and go back to thinking about becoming the number one hero. Instead, he was wasting his time dwelling on whatever the fuck it was he felt for stupid Uraraka. Wasn't there some kind of switch he could flip and turn off this useless shit?

All Might would know, but Bakugo sure as hell didn't plan on talking about it to anyone.

Maybe if he just accepted it, he wouldn't have to think about it so much. If he could just admit to himself that he respected Uraraka more than most of his classmates, that he trusted her as a partner, that he... _cared_ about who she was and what she thought and what she wanted, that he…

Liked her.

Bakugo felt like an idiot middle schooler, but at the same time, he didn't totally hate the warm feeling that burned somewhere deep in his chest.

Not that he planned on doing anything about it. He would take that shit to the fucking grave.

But for the moment, he allowed himself a smile.

* * *

I have a love/hate relationship with writing fight scenes. Also, I hope Bakugo's swearing makes sense. IRL I insert curse words into the middle of other words (again → a-fucking-gain), so he talks like me, essentially. He seems like the type that would rage so hard he'd use words in a way that don't always make grammatical sense.

Also, this chapter probably needs a fuckton more editing, but this is a super chaotic time of year for me (isn't it for everyone?), so I wanted to go ahead and get this out. The ideas won't change, it would just be wording/style updates if I do decide to go back and make changes.

As always, reviews fuel my fire! Much love.


	9. Chapter 9: Things We Didn't Do

A/N: HOLY SHIT YOU GUYS. December was STUPID busy. I apologize for taking so long to update. It didn't help that no matter what I did, I wasn't happy with this chapter for _ages_. I finally got it to a good place, I think, but damn it was a struggle. Thank you to all those who faved, followed, and reviewed in the meantime!

PREVIOUSLY: Uraraka is dating international pop star Naegi Nobusuke. He wants to date her because he thinks it will get him back in the spotlight; she wants to date him because he's giving her parents work. Bakugo realized he has feelings for Uraraka, but adamantly refuses to do anything about it. Uraraka and Bakugo were partners for a teamwork exam in All Might's class, but failed epically because Bakugo refused to work with her. The two of them, Kirishima, Ashido, Mineta, and Kaminari now must take remedial lessons with the losing teams from the same exam in Class B.

 **Chapter Nine: Things We Didn't Do**

(Saturday Night, Uraraka)

Her heart banged a volatile thrum against her ribcage as she fidgeted with the hem of her knee-length dress. She sat in the back of an expensive black car, on her way to her first official date with Naegi Nobusuke. Hamuro tittered beside her, brushing fresh powder on Uraraka's face (even though Mina had _just_ done her makeup) and giving her tips for dealing the press that would undoubtedly be waiting outside the restaurant.

Uraraka's stomach turned unpleasantly.

She flipped open her phone and scrolled through messages to a text from the day before:

[15:38 Jiro to Group: We Run This Motha] PSA: All my ladies kicked ASS today. You're all freaking gods!  
[15:38 Jiro to Group: We Run This Motha] (mp3) badassbabes1-A

She'd played Jiro's song on repeat for most of the morning, and she wished she'd brought headphones with her so she could play it again now. It was upbeat and feisty, a "battlecry" as Mina called it. Uraraka wished she had the confidence she found while fighting to bring to this date.

" _Have some faith in your damn self."_

Bakugo's words clanged around in her head, unasked for, unbidden, but steadying nonetheless. _She'd_ been the reason they'd taken so many flags the day before. She could take on just about anyone in the class singlehanded. She could handle a date.

It took a different kind of courage, sure, but Uraraka was going to be a hero. She could be all kinds of brave.

Besides, she reminded herself, her mother looked so happy in that picture her father sent. Her parents needed this.

" _You shouldn't live your life for you parents. Do you really think they want you to waste all your time helping them?"_

"It's not a waste of my time, Bakugo," Uraraka muttered under her breath.

"Hmm?"

"N-nothing!" Uraraka waved her hands in front of her. Hamuro didn't press the issue, but went back to babbling etiquette tips that Uraraka couldn't process.

She wanted to bury her face in her hands. _Why did I have to go and tell Bakugo about this?_

But her stomach had stopped turning, the bubbling nervousness quelled as she focused on their conversation from the day before. Bakugo had been... _reasonable_ about the whole thing. Mostly. That comment about being like an escort was totally uncalled for and Uraraka's face heated again at the memory. But he hadn't dismissed her, he hadn't blown her off for what she was doing. Instead of making fun of her, he'd been more concerned with making sure she understood what she actually wanted.

He made it seem like it wasn't selfish to want to be a hero for her own sake.

And he made it seem like it wasn't unreasonable to say no to Naegi if he asked her to do something like lose to another crappy villain.

It wasn't unreasonable to say no to Naegi, period.

Of course, she wouldn't do that, not yet. Just because Bakugo thought she was allowed to be selfish didn't mean she actually would be. Besides, she hadn't even really given Naegi a chance. She hadn't had a real date with him yet, and what was a first date but giving someone a chance?

The car stopped in front of a ritzy looking restaurant in the heart of the city, and Hamuro swiped some lipstick over Uraraka's lips and said, "Smile, sweetie!"

As expected, there was a small group of people gathered outside the restaurant. Cameras flashed as Naegi, dressed in a simple grey suit and looking unfairly handsome, strode out of the restaurant and opened the door of the car to let her out. Hamuro waved goodbye and the car drove off.

"Just fifteen steps and then we'll be inside," Naegi murmured in her ear, holding out his arm from her to link hers through. She did, feeling utterly plain beside him, and allowed him to lead her toward the door.

She tried not to look directly at the cameras.

Naegi made a show of ignoring the press, angling their bodies so the cameras caught a clear view of their linked arms, even as he looked pointedly away. Uraraka looked up at him, taking in the clean lines of his face, the smolder that settled with practiced ease across his features.

The restaurant door swung shut behind them and Uraraka blinked away the flashing lights that flickered across her vision.

(Deku)

Iida's back grew farther and farther away as Deku trailed behind him. They ran on the track that hugged the perimeter of the school, and most of the time, Deku at least _tried_ to keep up with his faster friend.

Not tonight.

Uraraka was out on a date with Naegi Nobusuke, and it didn't sit right in Deku's stomach. He wasn't really interested in having a girlfriend. As All Might's successor, he didn't have the time to dedicate to another person, and it wouldn't be fair to ask someone to tolerate coming second to his career. A relationship would be too big a burden.

But knowing that didn't stop the jealousy from twisting uncomfortably in his gut.

It proved his point though. He was distracted thinking about Uraraka, when he should be focused on his training, focused on the mission to save Eri. He should be preparing for that.

 _Eri_.

It was sobering, thinking about that little girl with the bandages wrapped around her arms. Sobering, to think of the pain she was likely in at this very moment. And here he was feeling sorry for himself because Uraraka was out on a date with another guy.

He was better than this. He had to be.

Deku shook his head, pushing thoughts of Uraraka to the edges of his consciousness as he picked up his pace. He wouldn't let his feelings be a weakness. He would swallow them again and again until they vanished altogether.

Whatever it took, he would be worthy of the great gift All Might had granted him. Everything else was secondary.

(Uraraka)

Naegi ordered for her, which would have bothered her on a normal day, but she didn't how to pronounce half the words on the menu so she ignored the annoyance that bubbled up at the overt chivalry. She clasped her hands together tightly in her lap, knowing her tendency to fidget when uncomfortable, and didn't want to find her chopsticks on the ceiling when the food arrived.

In contrast, Naegi seemed entirely at ease as he lounged in his seat and observed her across the table. The restaurant was dimly lit, a blessing, and the tables were few and far between.

"You can relax," Naegi said, a small chuckle on his lips. "No one's watching us here."

Uraraka attempted a smile, though it felt painfully forced. It didn't really matter that no one was watching. _Naegi_ was watching, and Uraraka had no earthly idea what she was supposed to do. It was her first date, _ever._ She would've been nervous no matter who was sitting across from her.

Naegi either failed to notice her discomfort or decided not to embarrass her by commenting on it. Instead, he folded his hands in front of him and leaned toward her.

"So. Tell me about yourself, Uraraka Ochako."

"Um...what do you want to know?" She was having a hard time meeting his eyes, and she felt like anything she had to tell him just wasn't... _cool_ enough.

"Anything. What do you do in your free time?"

"Free time?" Uraraka asked. He'd gone to U.A., hadn't he? "Training mostly. Weights, endurance, yoga, you name it. But I don't have much free time, honestly. When I'm not in class I've got my internship with Ryukyu and now I've got remedial lessons with Bakugo two days a week—"

"Bakugo? The guy you fought at the Sports Festival?"

"That's the one. We were partners for a teamwork project and we totally blew it, so we have to go to remedial lessons with some of the other teams."

"You'd think the teachers would know a guy like that can't work on a team and cut you some slack. I mean, one look at him and you can tell he's not really hero material, no matter how strong his Quirk is."

Uraraka's eyes narrowed a fraction and she was glad that the food arrived then so should could look at it instead of at Naegi. What right did he have to judge Bakugo?

Why did she feel so defensive about it?

"He's not _that_ bad," she said, folding her napkin in her lap. "He's really intent on being the number one hero, and he doesn't tolerate weakness." She didn't bother to mention that it was because she'd allowed Naegi to save her that Bakugo had pushed her away in the first place.

" _I never thought you were weak."_

"You're defending him? After what he did to you at the Sports Festival?" Naegi looked almost amused, but there was an edge in his voice.

" _You realize you nearly crushed me in a fucking meteor shower when we fought, don't you?"_

"I was just as willing to hurt him as he was me," Uraraka said, trying to keep her own voice even.

"But he had the upper hand, didn't he?" said Naegi. "No offense to you or your Quirk, but he won the whole thing, didn't he? He's really strong, and he used his full strength on you unnecessarily."

Uraraka was quite proud of the fact that Bakugo had used the strongest blast she'd ever seen to save himself from her final attack. She was _proud_ she'd forced that out of him. It wasn't unnecessary.

She opened her mouth to tell him so, but Naegi shrugged and picked up his chopsticks. Before she could speak he said, "To each his own though, but be careful around that guy, okay? He seems pretty violent."

Uraraka frowned, but picked up her own chopsticks as she said, "What about you? What do you do in your free time?"

"I tour, I write music, I train." He waved those things off as if they weren't important. "When I have actual free time, I like to read, though I rarely get to. I go to parties when I must, but that often feels more like part of my job than something I do for fun."

"Do you even like what you do?" Uraraka asked him bluntly, and realized only after the fact that he wasn't technically her friend just yet, even if they were 'dating.' Her candor might not be welcome just yet.

He didn't seem bothered as he chuckled into his food. "I do, honestly. It's a lot of work and a lot of stress, but I enjoy it. I enjoy the influence it brings and how many people I can touch with my music. I hear so many stories from fans who remember hearing one of my songs at an important moment in their lives, or remember having their minds changed by my words. It nice, knowing that I can help people across the world."

"Is it as tangible as hero work, though?"

Naegi thought about it for a moment. "Not really, but it's less risky than hero work. You can't fail someone the same way heroes can."

It occured to Uraraka that she'd never considered failing the people she was trying to save. She'd always been more concerned with failing her parents or herself. It had been a given that she would succeed when other people's lives were on the line.

She swallowed.

It was very like Deku, she thought, and All Might, and even Bakugo, to take such a heavy thing as if it were truth. It was very, well, _heroic_ to assume success. Part of her now thought it might be foolish, but another part of her was proud to rank herself among those striving to be the best, even in such a small way.

"You've never told me," Naegi went on."Why do you want to be a hero?"

Uraraka assumed he'd known about her parents, since he offered them that job, but looking at his face, she could only sense earnest curiosity.

"It just feels like what I'm supposed to do." It wasn't a lie. She'd worked that much out for herself after Bakugo yelled at her. "It's been the only thing I've thought about since I was little."

"And your Quirk, how does it work? I watched the U.A. Sports Festival, so I know you make things float, but I'm sure it's more nuanced than that."

Uraraka nodded, glad for a solid, easy topic. She held out a hand, showing him the pads on her finger tips. "See these? If I touch someone or something with these pads, I can choose to activate my Quirk, which negates 100% of the gravitational force being applied to the person or object, making them float. They're still subject to wind and stuff, so they can't truly control their movement unless they've got something—Bakugo's explosions, for example—that can propel them in the direction they choose. It makes it easy to take villains out of a fight. When I touch the pads on one hand to the pads on the other, I can release some or all of the things currently being floated. They immediately regain their original gravity, and any momentum they've gained in the air will continue to act as long as it's not in contradiction with gravity."

"So you could float anything you wanted?" Naegi reached out and ran his thumb across the pad on one of her fingers. She flinched when he jerked back a bit. "They're so rough," he explained. "It's a strange texture."

Uraraka winced, but said, "There's a weight limit. Right now it's a little over three tons, and I've been training to get it even higher than that. And I can float myself, but my weight limit goes way down when I do that."

"What happens if you exceed the limit?"

"I get really nauseated," she said, cheeks heating. "If I go too far I'll throw up."

"Yikes."

"Yeah."

The conversation lulled as they both began to eat, and Uraraka felt the silence pressing in heavily around her. She felt, a bit, like she was there to entertain him. Like the awkwardness was _her_ fault, rather than both of theirs.

She kicked herself for thinking that way, knowing it would make her even more like an escort if it were true, but she couldn't help but wonder about all the people Naegi had met, and wonder if she could even hold a candle to any of them in terms of being interesting. It wasn't a good feeling, the inferiority, and she wished he would say something to ease her worries.

But she also didn't like the idea of her own self confidence relying on someone else's opinion of her.

" _I'm not here to tell you that 'you can do it' or that you're strong or tough or whatever. Get your head out of your ass and look in the godsdamned mirror and you'd see it yourself."_

So, instead of trying to come up with something interesting to say, instead of trying to be anyone other than what she was, Uraraka smiled slightly, sat up a bit straighter, and had some faith in her damn self.

(Bakugo)

Bakugo slouched low in his usual desk in classroom 1-A. It was fucking _Sunday_ and with fucking remedial 'teamwork' lessons on top of his provisional license classes, he wasn't going to have a day off for a long, long time.

Kirishima slid into the desk in front of him—where Uniform usually sat—and stretched his arms above his head. They'd come in their school uniforms, unsure what these lessons would entail, and Bakugo pulled his tie a little looser in frustration. Buzzbrain took the seat next to Kirishima, and Uraraka and the pink alien filed in a few moments later. They took the two seats behind Buzzbrain, and Bakugo wanted to tell them all to fuck off and give him some space. They had the whole damn room after all.

The Perv came in next, and opted for the seat on the other side of Uraraka. She ignored him fully, continuing whatever conversation she'd been having with the alien without batting an eye.

The Class B extras eventually arrived, and everyone was buzzing, wondering what they'd be doing, but Bakugo slammed his forehead down on his desk and pretended that no one else existed. He really, _really_ didn't need this. He needed to go a day or two without having to look at Uraraka, without having to listen to her voice or smell the jasmine scent of her. He need to refocus, to get back to caring only about himself and becoming the number one hero.

Eventually, Midnight sauntered in, a self-satisfied smile on her face. Bakugo didn't like the look of it.

"On your feet, everyone!" she said immediately, snapping her fingers. "Move the desks to the walls."

As they did so, she continued, "You've all proven yourselves inept at working together, so we're going to start with the most basic lesson in teamwork: trust." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and put a hand on her hip. "Today we'll be going through a series of trust exercises, so we can see exactly where you stand with your partner. Each team will receive a brief evaluation at the end of the session, and we'll go through the same exercises again in a few weeks to see how you've improved. Any questions?"

"What if some of the teams _don't_ improve?" asked that weird blonde kid from the Class B, giving the Class A students a pointed look. Bakugo growled.

Midnight seemed unphased. "I expect improvement from all teams. This is U.A., after all. So, everyone find your partner and make some space for yourselves."

Uraraka appeared at his side. She hadn't said anything to him yet, but he was thankful. Not only did he want to kick her for all that shit with her parents and the pretty fucker, but he was also pissed off that he'd admitted his damned feelings to himself and they still hadn't gone away. The sight of her was making his stomach warm.

She punched him lightly in the shoulder, oblivious to war his mind and heart were waging, and grinned at him.

"Let's do our best, Bakugo!" she said. "We've got this!"

He grunted in response. She was a fucking ray of sunshine, as usual.

"We're going to start very simply," Midnight said. "Trust falls! Switch off who does the falling and who does the catching. No Quirks! Begin!"

"I'll catch first," Uraraka said to him. She shrugged a shoulder and smiled. "It _is_ kind of my forte."

"Fine." He didn't like the idea of being so close to her, touching her. It made his stomach perform a full-blown gymnastics routine just thinking about it. And why did she have to smile like that? It was his fault that they were here, after all. Why the fuck was she so positive?

He turned his back to her then and gave no warning as he dropped straight toward her. Her hands, strong and unyielding, hooked under his armpits. His body dipped down slightly and then she was hauling him back up.

 _CRASH_

"The point is to _catch_ me!" the pink alien yelled from the ground a little ways away, glaring up at Kirishima.

"Sorry!" the redhead moaned, reaching a hand down to help her up. "I got nervous and panicked!"

"He's never touched a girl before, Ashido, you'll have to forgive him," Buzzbrain teased.

"I'm still glad it's him and not you," the alien bit back, and Bakugo saw Kirishima's face go red behind her.

Uraraka chuckled and let go of his arms. She stepped around in front of him and stood with her back to him.

"Ready?"

"Duh."

She wasn't as light as he expected. He hooked his elbows under her arms as she fell and the weight of her caught him off guard enough to keep him from noticing the way his skin tingled where he touched her. He should've expected the muscle weight, considering that she'd just lifted him back onto his feet without her Quirk.

There was another groan from their classmates and Bakugo turned to see Buzzbrain laying on top of a fairly squished Perv. Uraraka laughed, and he realized he still had his arms under hers. He was close enough to smell the jasmine scent of her and feel the rumble of her laughter through her back, pressed against his chest.

These remedial lessons were a terrible idea.

He removed his arms quickly and looked expectantly at Midnight.

Once the other teams were finished, Midnight walked around to everyone, handing out strips of dark cloth that looked similar to the flags from the exam.

"Blindfolds!" the 18+ hero exclaimed happily, motioning for them to put them on. "Once you're ready, I'm going to lead you each around to a random starting position along the walls. When I say go, you must find your partner in the crowd without sight and without using your Quirks. The first round you will be allowed to speak, and then we will do a silent round."

"Permission to retaliate if someone touches us inappropriately?" the alien asked, giving Perv a hard look.

"Granted!" said Midnight. "Everyone be careful with their hands! Now, blindfolds on!"

Bakugo begrudgingly tied his around his head. Maybe if they did well enough on Midnight's teamwork evaluations, they'd get out of these remedial lessons.

He doubted it.

A moment later, he felt the pro hero's hands on his shoulders as she led him across the room. The familiar warmth of Uraraka beside him disappeared.

It was another minute or two before everyone seemed to be in place and Midnight called, "Begin!"

A chorus of voices began immediately. He recognized Buzzbrain to his right, but the voice to his left must've been someone from Class B. Bakugo headed straight, hoping that he was aimed for the center of the room.

"Oy, round face, come to the middle!" he shouted.

"Trying, Bakugo!" he heard her call, surprised at how easily he was able to pick out her voice once everyone started crashing into each other in the center of the room. "Too many people over here. Do you remember where the front of the room is? Let's head that way instead."

He still had a vague idea and made his way in the direction, bumping to several people who were definitely not Uraraka. After nearly tripping over the Perv, he caught the jasmine scent to his left, and turned, reaching out toward it.

"Oof, that's my face."

"Found you." Bakugo grinned. She took his hand in both of hers, pulling it off of her face, and Bakugo marveled a bit at the texture of the pads on her fingers. Like the rest of her, he'd expected them to to be soft, but they were tough like a callous, rough like leather. They were a stark contrast to the surrounding skin of her hands, and Bakugo found himself wanting to run his own fingers over hers again.

He didn't.

"Oy, Bakugo, your hands are so...scarred!"

She, however, seemed to have no inhibitions, and she really needed to stop rubbing her thumbs over his palm. It was making him sweat.

"Comes with my Quirk," he explained, closing his hand into a fist around her roving fingers, then realizing what he'd done, dropped her hand entirely. He was glad for the blindfolds as his neck and face heated. "My skin had to build up resistance."

He felt her flinch beside him. "That sounds painful."

Bakugo shrugged, though he knew she couldn't see it. "Better than throwing up all the damn time."

"Pfft."

"Good! Everyone has found each other!" Midnight's voice came from somewhere in the middle of the room. "Don't remove your blindfolds! We're going to do this exercise again silently! And no strategizing ahead of time."

Midnight's hand on his shoulder forced him away from Uraraka again, and he cursed himself for wishing he was still standing beside her.

(Uraraka)

She wasn't sure how exactly Midnight expected them to find their partners without speaking.

It wasn't like there were a ton of people, only twelve including herself, meaning there was about a nine percent chance of each person she ran into being Bakugo. She did have one idea, though, which occurred to her after her brief contact with Bakugo's hand.

Keeping one of her own hands on the wall to maintain her bearings, Uraraka walked the perimeter of the room, keeping her other arm outstretched in search of bodies.

Someone bumped against her should and stopped, and Uraraka felt a hand searching above her head. She found the person's shoulder, and determined from the breadth of it that they were male, so she ran her hand down his arm until she found his own hand. Her padded fingers searched his palm. It was rough, but the callouses there weren't scars built up over years.

Not Bakugo's.

The next person she hit was female, and Uraraka moved on again until she ran into another male on the muscular side. She used the same test, running her fingers across his palm to feel for scars. But she was met with the lightest spark of electricity, more of a _pop_ than a shock. Kaminari.

She used this method twice more before she felt an oddly familiar warmth beside her. She hadn't realized how accustomed she'd grown to being near Bakugo. Assuming, of course, that it was indeed him.

Uraraka knew as soon as rugged fingers moved down her arm, finding her hand and brushing a warm, rough thumb over the pad on her middle finger. She didn't even need to feel his palm to know for sure.

She gripped his thumb instead and gave it a small squeeze. _We did it, Bakugo!_

He didn't squeeze her hand back, but he didn't jerk immediately away either.

Standing there, blind and silently holding his thumb, Uraraka was surprised at the lack of awkwardness. Though as soon as she started thinking about it she felt the blush rise in her cheeks.

She was sort of holding hands with _Bakugo Katsuki_.

The whole thing seemed ridiculously laughable.

Though she didn't think it would be wise to laugh.

"Blindfolds off!" Midnight's voice jolted her out of her thoughts, and Uraraka immediately let go of Bakugo.

"Well done everyone! Next, I want you all to stand facing your partner, at whatever distance seems most comfortable to you."

Uraraka pulled the cloth from her eyes and realized she was standing but a breath away from Bakugo, the heat that radiated off him seeping into her skin. She took a step back and stopped there. Bakugo merely pivoted to face her fully. He shoved his hands into his pockets and worked his face into a scowl, but it felt more like an afterthought than anything.

"Now," said Midnight, a glint in her eyes. "Give your partner a genuine compliment. Preferably something specific and something that they haven't heard a thousand times. Saying 'you're strong' isn't going to cut it here. The faster you come up with something, the less likely it is you'll have to say it in front of the class."

Bakugo _tched_ across from her. Partners around the room began muttering to each other, and everyone was red in the face.

Uraraka rubbed the back of her neck and met his eyes, which sparked and crackled under her gaze. Crimson and flecks of gold.

"You're almost as amazing as me," Monoma was telling Kendo a few meters away, and Uraraka stifled a laugh.

"What're you laughing at?" Bakugo growled.

Uraraka jerked her thumb in the direction of the Class B students beside them, but didn't break Bakugo's eye contact.

She thought for a moment, feeling a tug in her stomach as she said, "You've already heard how strong and smart and tactical you are, so...You've got very nice eyes. They're like sparklers."

She watched those sparkler eyes widen and his ears redden and felt her own face heat in response, but let out a breath because at least she'd said something. Most of the class was finished, looking expectantly at those who hadn't spoken.

"We're waiting on you, man," Kirishima said, and Uraraka admired the redhead's courage as Bakugo glared daggers at him.

Bakugo mumbled something.

"What was that?" Midnight asked.

"You're not as dumb as you look," Bakugo growled again.

Uraraka frowned. "Oh jeez, _thanks_."

Midnight patted her on the back. "This class is all about improvement. Don't worry too much about it."

It was basically downhill from there.

Next, Midnight had them pull chairs to the center of the room, creating two rows facing each other, close enough that Uraraka's knees pressed into Bakugo's across from her, as well into Kendo and Kirishima on either side of her. She laughed a bit at Mina, who sat across from Kirishima, squished between Bakugo and Awase from Class B.

They were all so close, and Uraraka caught a mix of scents from those around her. There was rosy shampoo—that had to be Kendo—a musky cologne that was _definitely_ coming from Kirishima, and something else...smokey cinnamon—Bakugo. Uraraka blinked in surprise. She should've known he didn't smell like gunpowder _all_ the time, only when he sweat during practice. But still, it was off-puttingly pleasant, and she caught herself leaning forward a bit to catch it again.

"You'll be giving your partner prolonged eye contact," Midnight explained. "We're going to start easy—thirty seconds. Ready...go!"

Uraraka blinked and found Bakugo's eyes. His brow was furrowed, mouth set in his typical scowl, and he looked away after about five seconds.

"Uraraka and Bakugo, start over," Midnight commanded. "It's thirty _continuous_ seconds."

Bakugo growled low in his throat and met her eyes again, and Uraraka could see some war waging in his features. There was a light in his eyes that dimmed and reignited and dimmed again, burning in tandem with whatever he was thinking. It was uniquely intimate and personal to see it happen, and Uraraka's eyes flicked away in spite of herself.

"And start over," Midnight sang.

Fortunately, most of the teams were having similar problems.

There was a softness in Bakugo's eyes, Uraraka thought, bringing her gaze back to his. Not a softness toward her, per se, or toward anything in particular. The softness was more a permanent resident hiding out behind the hard glint he usually forced into his eyes.

And she realized that for all his rage, there was something else inside him. Something that drove him to be a hero. Naegi thought Bakugo didn't have what it took. The League of Villains thought Bakugo would better off as one of them. That he _wanted_ to be a bad guy. That he was predisposed to evil.

But here he was. (Mostly) willingly doing silly trust exercises with a group of other wanna-be heroes.

She didn't know what it was exactly that drove him to heroism. It might not be anything specific at all—just a general goodness that he tried desperately to hide behind his tough exterior. A soft gold that shone through the blood red in his eyes. A beating heart that wanted more than just to be the number one, even if he himself didn't fully realize it.

It made her wonder what he saw in _her_ as they stared at each other. If she could see a crack of vulnerability in Lord Explosion Murder, then he could probably see the whole of her soul laid bare. It made her want to look away again.

But she didn't.

Because part of her didn't mind so much if he saw her for what she was. Even if he could be an epic jerk, he'd still seen her as an equal, treated her with a respect that others in their class couldn't match. He didn't underestimate her, so it wouldn't be the end of the world if he saw a bit of her heart.

And the spark in Bakugo's eyes brightened at her silent challenge.

(Bakugo)

"Good job, everyone! Take a break," said Midnight, and Bakugo felt the people on either side of him relax. Uraraka's tense shoulders slackened a bit, and Bakugo couldn't help but wonder what she'd been thinking throughout their thirty seconds of eye contact.

He'd watched her study his face, saw her eyes widen and narrow, saw the fire that danced there, the storm that thundered through them. An open book in a foreign language.

And he'd been captivated as the half-familiar words flung themselves toward him.

He'd done his best to glare at her, but the warmth she brought to his stomach and the comforting weight that settled in his chest as he watched her kept him from scowling as harshly as he would've liked.

And he could pick out that jasmine and lavender scent beneath the overpowering cologne coming off of Kirishima.

Bakugo rubbed his eyes, ducking his head a bit so as not to look at her. It all felt too close, too intimate. And it wasn't helping his efforts to squash his feelings for her. His heart beat a little too fast, and he dragged his sweaty hands on his pants in an effort to dry them. These physical responses to her were stupid and pointless anyway. He knew she'd had a date with the Pretty Fucker the night before, and even if Bakugo knew he could beat that guy in a fight, why would anyone look twice at him standing next to an international star?

Not that they even stood beside each other. Bakugo wasn't stupid. He knew that, presently, they were leagues apart. It didn't really matter if she was seeing the Pretty Fucker because he gave her parents a job. She could realize at any moment that she could stick with someone rich like that and not even have to worry about getting a job to support them.

Not that he thought Uraraka would ever do something like that. She was way too independent to let someone else do what she thought was her responsibility, and she was way too much of a hero to give up becoming a pro, even if she didn't realize it.

"We're bumping it up now," said Midnight. "Hold eye contact for two minutes. Go!"

Instead of focusing on what was going on behind behind her eyes, Bakugo forced himself to study the color of them. They were brown, but flecks of silver and gold and amber glimmered within them. He tried to count the silver bits, but they seemed to shift and change as she blinked, as her thoughts swirled and settled and scattered.

 _You've got nice eyes, too, Angelface,_ he wanted to say.

But he didn't.

Because he already got the feeling she was seeing a little too deep inside him, and he didn't want to give her any further indication of his stupid emotions.

Uraraka's eyes had more to them, too, though. They were smoldering and bright at first glance, but there was a depth to them, and a darkness. Something she tried to hide—an insecurity or a weakness or a worry that didn't match the positivity she always seemed to exude.

It was something she didn't want anyone to see, and Bakugo was drawn to it.

He wanted to ask her what she was thinking.

But he didn't.

Maybe it had something to do with her internship, whatever it was that had given her and Froggy and Kirishima and fucking Deku such purpose as of late. Maybe it was because of her date with the Pretty Fucker. Or something with her parents. He wouldn't ask, so he'd never know, but he couldn't shake the feeling of _wanting_ to know. Of being curious about her. It was really fucking annoying.

He looked away from her on instinct, trying to hide his thoughts from her, and Midnight bonked him lightly on the head.

"Start over, you two," she said, and Bakugo groaned.

He cleared his head, forcing himself to focus on the history exam coming up in the next week. He rattled off dates in his mind, maintaining eye contact with Uraraka, but not really looking at her.

Buzzbrain and the Perv kept dissolving into fits of laughter, the weird blond guy from Class B kept turning away from his partner to make stupid, incendiary comments toward the A class, and Kirishima kept coughing and looking away from the pink alien with red in his cheeks. After several unsuccessful attempts, Midnight allowed them all to move on.

"This is the last portion of the eye contact test," she explained, walking back and forth behind Bakugo's row. "We're going to go back to thirty seconds, since you can't seem to manage longer than that yet, but this time, I want you to hold both of your partner's hands. Physical contact instills an extra level of awareness, and even something as simple as holding hands can help build trust."

Bakugo swallowed and rubbed his hands on his pants again, his heartbeat quickening at the thought of actually having to intentionally touch Uraraka for a indefinite amount of time. Unwilling to show his fear, he held his hands out to her, palms up, with his elbows resting on his thighs, but he heard an obnoxious sigh from the blond Class B weirdo that sat beside him. What was this guy's Quirk again? Copying or something lame?

"I would ask to be excused from the hand-holding if I were you," the weirdo said to Uraraka, a stupid smirk on his face. "Given your partner's highly volatile nature, I would be afraid of him accidentally activating his Quirk on you."

Bakugo opened his mouth to tell this idiot that he was _well_ beyond the accidental activation phase, but Uraraka beat him to the punch. She slid her hands into his without hesitation and stuck her tongue out at the guy from Class B.

"What are you, twelve?" Bakugo asked her, but there was a lightness to his voice that surprised him and his hands and arms sparked like he was holding hands with Buzzbrain instead of Uraraka. It was nice, he thought, to be trusted, even though he would never admit to something that sappy. She gave his hands what was probably meant to be a reassuring squeeze, looking totally at ease even as his pulse rushed.

Uraraka smiled wryly, sticking her tongue out at him in turn, and Bakugo almost smiled back at her.

But he didn't.

"And begin!" said Midnight.

It was more difficult this time, no doubt about it. The intimacy ante had been seriously upped with the addition of intentional physical contact. Bakugo was always aware of his hands—more so than most people—since his Quirk activation depended on levels of nitrous oxide and glycerin secreted simultaneously, but now it was like he could feel every individual atom vibrating against each other. It was a constant, steady battle to keep his hands from shaking, and a concentrated effort to fend off the sweat that attempted to puddle in his palms.

Uraraka seemed to be having similar problems. She was biting down hard on her bottom lip (Bakugo cursed himself as his eyes flicked toward her mouth, earning another bonk on the head from Midnight), and she seemed to be trying to keep the pads of her fingers from touching his skin for too long. Like she was afraid of activating her Quirk on him.

"Chill, round face," he told her gruffly.

Beside him, the pink alien laughed. "Yeesh, Uraraka. If _Bakugo_ is telling you to chill, it must be bad."

"Shut up, Goo Girl." Bakugo's voice was a rough grumble.

Uraraka took her hand off his and flicked him in the forehead, earning sharp intakes of breath from those around them, all of whom broke eye contact to watch Bakugo and Uraraka warily.

Uraraka, however, appeared unafraid. She held his gaze as she said, "Don't be mean to _Mina_ , Bakugo."

Bakugo growled at her, grabbing her hand from where it still hovered in front of his head and pulling it back down to rest beside their other hands, still clasped together.

"Everyone start over!" Midnight announced. She appeared almost gleeful at their failure.

Bakugo growled again, putting more effort into it this time. He needed to get out of this rut, to get back to the person he was before All Might saved him from the League of Villains.

He needed to get back to the person dead set on being number one at all costs, the person that didn't have time to think about anyone else. The person that pushed others away, that fumed and sparked and burned to keep people at bay for fear of getting too close to the flames.

The person that relied on no one and nothing.

No one.

Why didn't that sound as appealing as it used to?

As he met her eyes again, a series of images flashed through his mind, too fast and fleeting to latch onto into any one in particular—Uraraka floating upside down through the common area, her timer ticking away around her neck; Uraraka demanding that he throw her into combat during practice for their exam; Uraraka in the grip of that villain on tv, the hard light in her eyes going out as she decided not to fight; Uraraka in that tap room in his dreams, skin crumbling away as he failed to reach her; Uraraka grappling him midair, forcing him to fall hard across the ground and dislocating his shoulder in the process; Uraraka fighting through the crowd of students during the exam, kicking ass and winning the whole thing practically on her own.

Uraraka sitting across from him now, her brown eyes an unrelenting storm, a glimmering sea, a starry sky all at once—wild and fierce and free. The pads of her fingers scratched against his sweaty palms and she blinked, drawing forth some of that inky darkness that hid behind the fire in her eyes. The darkness Bakugo so secretly wanted to explore.

But the Bakugo from before wouldn't want that. The Bakugo from before—the one who didn't wake in the night clawing at his throat—would scoff at him now. The old Bakugo would laugh with vicious cruelty at the very thought of caring about the inner workings of another's mind.

But which version of himself was closer to the person he wanted to be?

He certainly preferred the old Bakugo for his disregard for all feelings but rage and wicked triumph. He preferred the old version because the old Bakugo wouldn't be agonizing about all this shit. The old version would've finished the godsdamned remedial lesson and gotten the hell out of Dodge. The old Bakugo would've seen only the brown of Uraraka's eyes and none of the silver storm within them.

The old Bakugo would've missed the gold and the amber and the darkness.

But would the old Bakugo have been better for it?

Would the old Bakugo have cared if he wasn't?

 _Fucking hell._

The current Bakugo hated his own indecision. The current Bakugo hated that he was suddenly concerned with feelings and emotions and stupid shit. The current Bakugo hated that he was willing to trust someone else to back him up in a fight. The current Bakugo hated that he didn't hate Uraraka Ochako.

The current Bakugo hated that he didn't hate the current Bakugo.

A soft squeeze of his hands drew Bakugo from his thoughts.

"Everything all right in there?" Uraraka whispered. Her head was tilted slightly to the right, a long strand of hair falling across her face as she studied his eyes.

"Tch."

A smile lit her face. "Aaand he's back."

"Can it, round face."

She didn't say anything else, but squeezed his hands once more before letting go entirely. The cold freedom of his hands wasn't as welcome as he would've liked it to be.

"Better than anticipated, everyone," said Midnight. "Quickly, I'll give each team an evaluation…"

Bakugo tuned her out as she spoke to the Class B extras. He wiped his sweaty hands on his pants one last time and then shoved them in his pockets, ignoring the phantom feeling of the rough pads of Uraraka's fingers on his palms.

"Bakugo and Uraraka," said Midnight eventually, "Not bad, all things considered. You both need to work on opening up to each other a bit more. Teams don't work unless you trust each other, and trust comes from honesty."

Uraraka winced and nodded. Bakugo did nothing.

"All teams—you will have another trust test with me two weeks from today. At that time, I want you each to turn in a brief essay on your partner. I want you to interview them—learn about some of their fears and flaws, their strengths and their ambitions. I want you to write about the things you admire in your partner. I want you to write about why your partner is worthy of your trust. Because each of you is worthy. Look for why your partner is. Your lesson tomorrow is with All Might after regular classes. Dismissed."

Well, at least such an assignment might present an opportunity to explore the darkness in Uraraka's eyes.

The old Bakugo would've cowered at the thought.

The current Bakugo didn't.

* * *

Again, I was super back and forth about this chapter, so please, please PLEASE review and tell me what you think!


	10. Chapter 10:Deep in A Corner of the Night

**A/N:** WARNING! There are a few gory images in this chapter!

Also, kind of weird, but there are two dream segments near the beginning, signified by italics.

Again, and as always, THANK YOU to everyone who followed/favorited/reviewed! Your words mean so much! I consider all comments and criticism.

* * *

 **Chapter Ten: Deep In A Corner of the Night**

(Toga)

Her room was dark. It was always dark here, underground in the lair of the Eight Precepts of Death. She lay on her bed, staring up at the matte black ceiling above her, and popped her gum with a _SMACK_ that echoed around the small space like she'd lit a stick of dynamite.

She twirled a small vial between her fingers, allowing Ochako's blood to slosh around inside.

It had been thrilling—to _be_ Ochako. To see the way Izuku looked at her. To see the way others looked up to her.

Maybe, once she got back to the League of Villains, Tomura would let her kidnap Ochako. Maybe he'd let Toga become Ochako permanently.

Life would definitely be easier then—Ochako was the kind of girl that attracted people like Izuku, like Naegi Nobusuke. Ochako was the type of girl that didn't have to think about right or wrong, just or unjust. She could just _exist_ and the world would crack itself to the core if she wished it.

As Ochako, she could see Izuku as much as she wanted. She could learn everything about him. And maybe, eventually, she could become _him_ instead. Her whole body writhed in anticipation.

But Tomura still wanted Bakugo. He thought Ochako might be the key to getting Bakugo to join the League. And Toga would certainly try, especially if it meant collecting more of Ochako's blood in the process, but she wasn't sure it would work.

 _SMACK._

She shoved the vial deep into her pocket and fingered her knife instead, running the edge of her nail along the blade with just enough pressure to split a fine fracture in the thin surface.

Bakugo Katsuki wasn't like Toga. He wasn't like Dabi or Jin or even Tomura. He was more like Ochako—he didn't bother to think about the system, didn't bother to wonder if what heroes did was just. And like Izuku—so hell bent on being the greatest hero that he couldn't possibly picture himself as the villain. He wasn't willing to _become_ a villain in order to be a hero, not like Stain had been.

He was blind, and Tomura didn't have a Quirk for making people see.

(Bakugo)

 _The tap room shimmered and wobbled around him. Familiar, like the frayed seams of his favorite black hoodie—the one his mother had stolen and thrown away twice, only for Baguko to retrieve it from the garbage bin._

 _Familiar, like skinned knuckles, charred palms, and peeling calluses._

 _Familiar, like the aching dread that sat like a heavy stone in the pit of his stomach—that small part of him that wondered if perhaps he was_ meant _to be taken by the League of Villains, that wondered if he was meant to be one of them._

" _What say you join us?" murmured the villain, his face, as always, obscured by the disembodied hand that clung to it._

" _Go to hell," Bakugo's voice was more croak than command._

" _Ours is a battle of questions," the Hands Guy continued. Bakugo knew his speech word for word. "What is a hero? What is justice? Is this society truly just? We'll make everyone question those things, one by one."_

 _He strode toward Bakugo, and for once, Bakugo didn't struggle against the chains binding him to the chair. He knew when the villain touched him, he'd disappear, but maybe that wouldn't be the worst thing. If Bakugo wasn't there, he wouldn't start questioning. If he wasn't there, the villains couldn't win._

 _If Bakugo wasn't there, All Might wouldn't have to break himself to save him._

 _Cold fingers closed around his throat, but the sensation of his body turning to ash wasn't unpleasant. It was like, bit by bit, he was crumbling into a constellation. Yet...if he gave off starlight, he himself was blind to it here in the night sky of his dreams._

 _All was dark around him, the cold and silence almost suffocating._

 _Then, quietly, "You look up to the figure All Might strikes when he wins."_

 _Bakugo's own words echoed through the inky blackness. They came to him not in his voice, but in_ hers _and the hand still touching his neck was soft, save for rough pads at the end of each finger._

 _With her other hand, she have him a gentle flick in the forehead, and suddenly, the world was drenched in sunlight, exploding from the darkness in silvers and ambers. Surrounded on all sides by endless daylight, Bakugo wasn't sure which way was up and which was down, but he didn't think it mattered much—next to him floated Uraraka, utterly fearless in the face of him._

 _She didn't look at him like he was a villain. She didn't look at him like he belonged in that tap room. She didn't look at him like he was a question at all._

" _We're a team," she said, that unrelenting challenge burning in her eyes as if she herself was the sun._

 _And in spite of everything, Bakugo thought he might belong in the sky._

(Meanwhile, Uraraka)

 _She floated in an unfamiliar darkness and the timer around her neck stopped ticking._

 _99:99._

 _But she didn't falter. Nausea didn't rise in the back of her throat. She was flying untethered above a vast ocean that stretched beyond the murky horizon._

 _Then, the screams._

 _One after another after another, they filled the eerie silence of her sky but Uraraka saw no one._

" _Help!"_

" _Save us!"_

 _She whirled around wildly as voices made themselves distinct in the chaos. Her mother. Her father. All Might. Aizawa. Tsuyu. Iida. Hado. Mina. Yaoyorozu. Deku. Bakugo._

 _A girl that might have been herself or that might have been Eri._

 _The sea was a tempest below her and they were drowning and she was stuck in place. She floated only her own body and no matter how she tried to release her Quirk and join the others in the storm, she was trapped above it._

" _You failed them."_

 _Naegi's voice stirred the air around her as the screams died away, begonia blossoms blooming out of thick black fog that billowed from the sea. The darkness pressed in all sides like smoke. It seared through her lungs, scorched her throat, suffocated her._

 _She was going to die._

 _She was going to die and she gasped desperately, trying to pull in clean air but then there were vines in her throat, around her neck, begonias sprouting from her skin and she was going to die and decompose all at once._

 _Her hands scratched at her neck, an attempt to yank the plant from inside her but the pads on her fingers were so rough they tore straight through the skin and the begonias wilted as they were drenched in blood._

 _Drip._

 _Drip._

 _Drip._

 _Calm._

 _The flowers and smoke vanished, leaving a clear black expanse above her and a mirrored glassy sea below. Drops of her blood fell slowly, and the surface rippled like Uraraka was throwing stones._

 _Utterly alone._

" _You failed them all," said Naegi's voice came from her own mouth as she looked at her distorted reflection below._

 _And then she was plummeting._

(Bakugo)

Bakugo woke slowly, his eyes cracking open to the pink light of dawn filtering through his curtains. For once, he hadn't flung himself out of bed in an attempt to stop the nightmares.

But he scoffed. When had he become so complacent? When had he become willing to let that villain kill him?

He hadn't, not really. Bakugo knew that, given the chance, he would fight his way out of the tap room again, All Might or no. The villains could cause him to question all they wanted, but they wouldn't change who he inherently was, who he wanted to be.

Number Fucking One. Even if he had to burn himself to ash to make it so.

(Uraraka)

Uraraka woke crying.

She was so thoroughly tangled in her blanket that it hovered with her over the bed. She was face down, her back pressed again the ceiling as if she'd fallen up. A corner of the soft fabric tickled her face and Uraraka brushed it hastily away.

 _Breathe, Ochako,_ she commanded herself, even as her breath came in ragged gulps and tears squeezed themselves out of her eyes.

"Just a dream," she said aloud, releasing her Quirk and dropping back onto the bed.

No blood. No storm. No smoke. _You're fine._

But she felt far from it.

She was only a first year, and she'd been chosen as part of the mission to find an rescue Eri. _She_ above so many others. Professionals were counting on her. Eri was counting on her.

But Uraraka had been too cowardly to join Deku and the others when they went to save Bakugo from the League of Villains. She had been so cowardly she'd tried to _stop_ them from going. It had been forbidden, but Deku had been driven enough to go in spite of that. He'd been brave enough to know that saving Bakugo was the ultimate priority. If it meant consequences later, so be it.

How could Uraraka hope to succeed this time if she couldn't even go after a classmate?

How could she hope to succeed if she was a coward at heart?

And she hadn't been brave enough to truly apologize when Tsuyu did. Instead, she'd tried to lighten the mood and help everyone forget.

Sitting cross-legged on her bed, Uraraka buried her face in her hands as another sob shuddered through her.

She didn't even have a good reason for wanting to be a hero in the first place. Iida and Deku had such noble goals—wanting to save people, wanting to make the world a better place for everyone, that was what a hero should be. A hero wasn't someone who was in it for the money and who stayed behind when things got tough.

" _You can't possibly tell me that your main drive in becoming a hero is to make money. I've seen you fight; I've seen the look on your face. You fucking love it."_

"You dummy, Bakugo," Uraraka muttered to herself. He had a way of shouting loud enough that his words echoed in her head days after he'd spoken them.

"You're next!" All Might had declared after he defeated All for One, and he could've meant anything, but Uraraka had wanted to think it was a call to action for _all_ of them. If All Might wasn't the Symbol of Peace anymore, everyone had to step up, herself included.

But what if she couldn't?

When Shigaraki threatened Deku at the mall, Uraraka hadn't jumped in to help. Shigaraki had let Deku go as soon as he realized Deku had friends there, but what if he hadn't? What if he had tried to kill Deku? Would Uraraka have been able to move? Would she have been able to save him?

When Toga attacked them at the camp, Uraraka had been slow to act. She'd let Tsuyu protect her, and Tsuyu had gotten hurt because of it. If Uraraka had been faster, if she'd paid more attention and jumped to action immediately, _she_ could've protected _Tsuyu_ instead. If she had refused to let Toga distract her with her rant about wanting to be like Deku, she could've stopped Toga from siphoning her blood. She could have stopped her from escaping.

"So far, you make a pretty crummy hero, Ochako," she said aloud, scrubbing tears from her cheeks, the skin raw beneath her fingers.

What if...what if she wasn't cut out for it?

What if this wasn't what she was meant to do?

The thought settled like a heavy weight in her chest—one she couldn't simply float away. Her ribs seemed to press inward, squeezing out the air, clenching around her heart like shackles.

 _Cowardly. Weak. Not good enough._

 _Fragile._

Everyone thought it. They'd made that clear at the Sports Festival and again when she and Bakugo practiced for the exam. No one thought she was cut out to be a top hero.

" _He had the upper hand, didn't he?" Naegi had said. "No offense to you or your Quirk, but he won the whole thing, didn't he? He's really strong, and he used his full strength on you unnecessarily."_

"Get through today," she said, crawling out of bed and making her way to the bathroom to get ready for class. "Get through today and go from there."

Sunlight began creeping through her curtains, reds and golds making a mosaic across the floor, and although her hands shook and her heart ached, Uraraka breathed.

(Bakugo)

His eyes were dry and beginning to itch as he forced them through the useless invisible twit that sat in front of him. If they were glued to chalkboard at the front of the room, they couldn't wander to Uraraka at the back.

He was Bakugo Katsuki, and he didn't look behind him for anyone.

Lessons ended, and the six remedial students remained in their seats. Or, Bakugo assumed they did. He didn't bother to check as he clenched his fists and waited for All Might to arrive.

The hero-turned-teacher slouched in a few minutes later, his emaciated form causing Bakugo's gut to twist uncomfortably, the way it always did when he looked at his idol in this state.

But nothing dampened the All Might indomitable spirit, and he grinned at the students as he motioned for them to stand.

"I don't know what Midnight had you all do yesterday, but today we'll be heading to Ground Beta for some field teamwork training," he said. "Class B is already changing into their hero costumes. I suggest you do the same and meet outside."

"Thank gods," said Buzzbrain, falling uninvited into step beside Bakugo. "I don't think I could handle another day of that eye contact crap."

Bakugo barely grunted in response.

"You had it easy though," Buzzbrain continued. "Uraraka's no eye sore. Why was _I_ the one to get stuck with a dude for a partner?"

"You?" the Perv caught up with them and Bakugo shoved his hands into the pockets of the hoodie we wore over his uniform in an effort not to blast him on the sport. "What about _me?_ I was stuck looking at _your_ ugly mug."

"Trust me," Kirishima said as he joined Bakugo's other side. "It's way harder with a girl, even if Bakugo won't admit it."

"You wanna die, Hair-for-Brains?" Bakugo growled, shooting Kirishima a hard glare.

But the redhead just grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.

They reached the locker room where their suits were stored and Bakugo pushed roughly past the others to get to his first. The Class B extras were already changed and were speculating about what All Might would be having them do.

Bakugo tuned them out completely.

He couldn't shake the feeling of flight from his dream, the feeling he got whenever Uraraka used her Quirk on him. Though he was more than ready for these remedial lessons to be over with, he would miss the weightlessness.

And he wondered if it was time spent with Uraraka that was keeping his nightmares at bay.

Tch.

As soon as he was changed, Bakugo stomped out of the locker room and headed straight for Ground Beta without waiting to see if anyone was following him.

All Might waited outside the gates, and once everyone was assembled, he said, "We're doing practical training today. I'm going to put you into larger groups and present you with a situation. It's your job to work together as a group to resolve the situation with as little collateral damage as possible. The goal here is to use the various Quirks and personalities in your group to find an effective solution to your problem. So, Kaminari and Mineta of Class A will work with Awase and Kodai from Class B. Kirishima and Ashido of A will be with Rin and Shoda from B. And Uraraka and Bakugo from A with Kendo and Monoma from B. You'll each be assigned a different area of Ground Beta so everyone can go at the same time."

"I would prefer to work with someone with more...self control than Bakugo," the weird blond guy said. "In fact, I would _rather_ work with people from my—"

He was cut off by a large hand that smacked itself across his face. His partner—red hair, green eyes, vaguely familiar—was standing there giving him a hard, exasperated look.

"You're missing the point of the assignment, Monoma," she said. "You've got to learn to work with all other heroes, so please suck it up."

She turned to Bakugo then and gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry about him."

Bakugo grunted and strode past the pair of them toward where Uraraka stood beside the gate to Ground Beta. He hadn't seen or heard much of her all day, though she was usually the type to be big and loud and in your face. She'd seemed subdued when he glimpsed her at lunch, and more so now. She stood with her shoulders slightly slumped, running her left thumb across the pads on her right fingers over and over and over in a steady, anxious motion.

"Snap out of it, round face," he said, stopping beside her. "We've got that fucking weirdo to put up with so get your head out of the clouds already."

She met his eye briefly, and her darkness was bigger, sadder, and she was trying so hard to hide it that his heart faltered.

So much for being the tough guy.

"Right!" she said, a bit too brightly, shaking her head and balling her hands into fists. "Right. Let's do our best!"

Something was up, but it wasn't his place to ask. Besides, he _didn't fucking care_.

If he said it enough times, perhaps he could will it to be true.

"Everyone, prepare yourselves at different entrances. Team Kaminari start at A, Team Kirishima at B, and Team Uraraka at C!" All Might announced. "Your situation will be made obvious once you are inside."

A bell rang and the doors in front of his team opened, and Bakugo saw it immediately.

"Fire," breathed the redheaded girl behind him.

A great skyscraper on the corner of a block was aflame, the glass windows shattering as the support beams began to crumble. Embers danced dangerously though the air, threatening the buildings all around the source of the blaze.

Suddenly, Uraraka jumped into action.

"Water—we need a source of water." She floated upward, scanning the area, and pointed beyond the burning skyscraper in front of them. "A river!" she called, dropping back to the ground. "Bakugo, I'll make all of us float, you get us to the water fast."

She was already pressing her padded fingers into the arms of the two students from Class B, and they clung annoyingly to Bakugo as if he'd given them permission. Uraraka then activated her Quirk on him and herself, and Bakugo was blasting them in the direction Uraraka had pointed out without a second thought.

Uraraka released them by the river's edge, and both the Class B students were a little green in the face.

"Okay, we found it," drawled the blond guy, "but how do we transport it?"

Bakugo looked around, scrambling for an idea, but Uraraka beat him to it.

"Dump truck."

"What?"

She pointed to where a large dump was parked beside a dumpster. She ran to it, saying, "Kendo, with me!"

The redhead was able to use her giant hands to guide the weightless dump truck from the parking lot to the river, and as she lowered it into the water, Uraraka turned to the blond guy. "Monoma, copy my Quirk and you and Bakugo get that dumpster over here. No way I can keep both of them up at the same time if they're full of water."

He hesitated. "What do you mean you can't keep them both up? What's it going to do to me?"

"Just some nausea," Uraraka assured him. "You'll be fine."

"But—"

"Just do what she says, dipshit," Bakugo commanded, grabbing the front of the boy's costume and pushing him toward Uraraka. "You've got to the count of one."

Fear crossed his face briefly before he hurried to Uraraka and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Brace yourself," she told him, releasing her Quirk on the dump truck and allowing it to sink into the deep water of the river. "I don't know if you'll start out with my current limit or my base limit, so be ready for the nausea."

When the truck was nearly submerged, Uraraka jumped in after it, tilting it so it filled with water. Before the lip was fully beneath the surface, she reactivated her Quirk so the truck and the water inside were made weightless.

"Kendo, I need you to take the truck and tilt it forward. You'll have to keep moving so the water stays inside as you walk. Leave it face up and it'll float away." She climbed out of the river and hurried to the other girl's side. "Once we get to building, I can tilt the truck and release my Quirk."

"Will it work?" the blond guy asked, holding his hand out to the dumpster, but not touching it yet.

Uraraka shrugged and bit her lip as the redheaded girl expanded her hands large enough to grab the truck. "I don't know, but unless you've got a better idea we've got to try."

"Go already, idiot" Bakugo ordered Uraraka, pointing after the redhead girl who was making her way through the streets as fast as she could. "We'll catch up. We have to do this _fucking fast_ or that fire'll spread across the whole damn block."

"Don't make him angry, Monoma!" the redhead called over her shoulder.

"And _you_ don't kill Monoma," Uraraka said to Bakugo, poking him in the chest. The look she gave him was half serious, half taunting, but her crooked smile didn't reach her eyes—the silver there was more dull iron.

And she was gone, chasing after the redheaded girl.

Bakugo rounded on the blond guy. "Oy, Copycat, hurry the fuck up already!"

He was still standing there, almost touching the dumpster but not. He grimaced, extended his hand a little further, finally pressing his fingers to the metal surface.

It must be the nature of the Copy Quirk that he knew how to activate Uraraka's power, because the dumpster started hovering.

Bakugo didn't bother looking at Copycat again as he brushed by him and grabbed the dumpster, guiding it to the river. When it didn't fall, Bakugo groaned.

"Release it, moron."

"Eehgh."

"The fuck?"

Bakugo whirled around to see the blond guy doubled over, arms wrapped around his stomach and his face a sickly shade of green.

"Shit," Bakugo muttered. He blasted himself up into to dumpster, his weight causing it to drop onto the water, but not enough to cause it to sink. He jumped, but it did no good. " _FUCK_."

He climbed back out and perched on the edge. It dipped with his weight and Bakugo used the motion to jump to the river bank. He stomped back to Copycat and grabbed the front of his uniform to drag him upright again. Bakugo had enough experience with Uraraka to know he was putting himself in the puke threat zone, but they were going to fail the whole scenario if this shit-wit didn't get it the fuck together.

"I am not going to lose because of your incompetent ass," he growled. "Uraraka's worth ten of you, but you should at least be able to do _this_."

A great _hiss_ signalled that Uraraka and Big Hands dropped their water on the building, and they were no doubt wondering what he and Copycat were doing.

" _Don't you want to win?_ " Bakugo yelled, shoving Copycat backwards. The other boy stumbled, looking up at Bakugo with a mix of hatred and frustration. "You can't be a hero if you're not aiming for the top! It's why you're just a godsdamned _extra_. Step the fuck up and do _better!_ "

"You don't...understand…" he panted, running a hand across his face. "It's so... _heavy_. And...I'm...so sick…"

Bakugo yelled, bombs going off in his fists as he racked his brain for something, anything, he could do to stop the fire.

In a normal situation, if he, as a hero, was the first on the scene of a fire like this, his priority would be to get civilians out and stop the villain that caused the fire, if applicable. He was designed to burn and break and topple, not quench or calm or mend.

He was designed to shatter, so he would.

Quickly, he grabbed Copycat by the collar and forced him into the nearby building, then turned back to the water.

The dumpster was floating a few meters off the surface of the river, and Bakugo blasted himself toward it, shoving it to the opposite bank to get it out of his way. Then, he blasted himself up, up, up.

He was going to deadfall without Uraraka.

He couldn't get the aim as precise when he was having to focus the majority of his energy on simply keeping himself in the air, but when he reached an appropriate height, he swiveled, aiming himself face first at the lake.

He put a finger on the pin of his left grenadier.

And dropped.

(Uraraka)

Uraraka floated in the air above the fire, a difficult task as the flames created an irregular wind pattern that buffeted her around as she tried to position the dump truck over the building.

She was sweating, and her fingers slipped on the steadily warming metal edge of the truck bed, but Uraraka grit her teeth and lunged toward it again, wrapping her hand around it and forcing it to spin upside down.

"Release!" she yelled, pressing her fingers together and then immediately grabbing a pipe on the underside of the truck. She fell with it briefly, the water pouring out over the fire, and Uraraka quickly reactivated her Quirk on the truck and herself as the steam hissed toward her. She used the truck as a shield against it and both were pushed farther into the air.

"Ahh!" she yelped as the steam heated the metal of the truck and singed the hand that clung to it, but she was otherwise unharmed. If she hadn't had the truck...if she had taken the blast of steam full force...she would've been a goner.

The hot air pushed her out of range of the fire itself, and Uraraka braced herself. She would have to release her Quirk and reactivate in quick succession until she was close enough to the ground to fall.

Nausea was stirring in her stomach, and catching herself over and over would certainly push her past her limit.

 _Cowardly. Weak. Not good enough._

 _Fragile._

"Not today," Uraraka growled back at the voice in her head. "Release!"

She fell several meters, the skin of her right palm burning as it still clung to the dump truck. She reactivated her Quirk, the tug on her stomach more pronounced than it was the last time, and Uraraka swallowed hard.

"Release!"

Again she fell and caught herself.

 _One more time, Ochako._

She fell one last time and caught the truck centimeters from the ground. She caught herself too, but quickly released again, crumpling to her knees and heaving up the contents of her stomach.

Kendo was at her side immediately, a regular hand on her back rubbing comforting circles. "Uraraka, that was so cool!"

Uraraka wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and blinked the tears from her eyes. "Bleck. I don't really feel so cool right now."

Kendo pulled Uraraka's arm around her shoulders and heaved her to her feet. Uraraka clung to her, legs shaking with the effort of standing.

"Where're Bakugo and Monoma?" Uraraka asked, looking around at last. She'd been so focused on her own task that she hadn't noticed that the boys weren't there yet. The fire had been dampened, but by no means stopped.

"I don't know," said Kendo. "We should get back—can you float the truck again? If the boys can't get the dumpster here we might need it."

Uraraka let go of Kendo and took a few steadying breaths, giving the truck a look like it was a fierce opponent.

"Help! Someone help me!"

Uraraka froze, her whole body rigid at the scream that came from above.

"There's someone up there!" Kendo gasped. "We have to get them out!"

 _Naegi's voice rang through her head. "You failed them_."

Uraraka couldn't breath, her ribs were crushing in on her lungs again and when she blinked there were begonias behind her eyelids.

" _Uraraka_! Come on!" Kendo grabbed Uraraka's hand, pressing into the taller girl's shoulder. "Make us float! I can use my hands to get us up there and you can grab them."

" _You failed them all."_

Uraraka ripped her hand away, the image of the pads of her fingers tearing away the skin of her throat flashing through her mind.

"What's wrong, Uraraka?"

Uraraka stumbled a few steps back, eyes wide as she stared up at the burning building. She shook her head back and forth, opening her mouth and closing it again.

 _Cowardly. Weak. Not good enough. Fragile._

 _Failure._

"I—I…"

Bright, stinging pain erupted in her cheek, and Uraraka blinked away the images of her dream to see Kendo, green eyes blazing, staring her down.

"Now is _not_ the time to freeze up, Uraraka! Snap out of it, we've got this!"

Uraraka looked down at her own hand, and the pads didn't seem so menacing. She swallowed again and nodded.

"Sorry, Kendo."

"Let's _go_ , please."

Uraraka activated her Quirk on herself, steadying her breathing before clinging to Kendo's back and activating it on her too. The other girl enlarged her hands and flapped them like wings, catching a draft from the fire and launching them upward.

It was a practice dummy with a recorder tied around its neck, hanging out of one of the top storey windows, that had triggered Uraraka's panic, and part of her scoffed at herself when she saw it. Kendo was able to maneuver them close enough that Uraraka could reach out and grip the dummy by the wrist and activate her Quirk again to pull it out of the window.

 _BOOM._

The ground trembled as an explosion rocked the earth. Uraraka, steady in the air, didn't feel so much as see and hear it, but she could guess the source and it worried her.

And then it was raining.

Cool water hit Uraraka in the face, soaking her hair and her uniform as Kendo lowered them to the ground. It was so refreshing after the blazing heat of the fire.

The fire itself was dying under the rain, fizzling slowly as the wood it ate through was drenched.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, Uraraka was running.

"What's going on?" Kendo yelled, scrambling to keep up with Uraraka's flat sprint.

"Bakugo," was Uraraka's only answer.

It took her under a minute to return to their spot by the river, and what she saw there made her heart stagger.

Monoma was on his knees inside the building closest to where they'd found the dumpster. He had his hands over his ears and there was a pool of vomit beside him.

The riverbed was demolished on the far bank, a giant crater surrounded by debris and dust was the glaring indication of what Bakugo had done.

"Where's Bakugo?" Uraraka asked, wheeling around on Monoma and yanking him to his feet by the front of his uniform. The blond boy held up his hands and shook his head, pointing at his ears and then across the river.

"The explosion must've blown his eardrums," Kendo supplied, kneeling in front of her partner as Uraraka dropped him, but Uraraka was already running for the river.

She desperately wished her suit already had maneuvering upgrades as she dove into the water, swimming hard and fast to the other side.

" _You failed them all."_

"Shut up!" she screamed at the voice in her head, hauling herself up out of the river and onto the shore. Her breath a ragged tear in her chest, she half-crawled-half-ran through the trees beyond the bank.

The scent of smoke and metallic blood was almost overpowering when she reached him.

He was laying on his back in a pool of blood—it caked the left side of his body, crusting along his jaw and staining his light hair. The grenadier on his left arm had shattered, bits and pieces of it scattered around him, some embedded in his forearm.

But that wasn't the worst of it.

The bones of his forearm had been forced backward by the impact of the explosion, and they'd punctured through the skin above his elbow, jutting out jaggedly into the air and leaving his wrist limp. All the bones in his hand looked broken and his shoulder was bent at an odd angle. Bits of his skin were scorched along the left side of his body, his broken hand was a blistered mess and his left cheek was painted an angry red.

Uraraka ran to his side, checking the pulse in his good arm and breathing a small sigh of relief when she noted it was still going strong. His breathing was a bit hitched, but he seemed to only be knocked out.

Gingerly, she reached out and activated her Quirk on him, slowly pulling him out of the puddle of blood and positioning him on her back. She wrapped his legs around her waist and carefully draped his broken arm over her shoulder, being careful not to jostle it more than she had to. She brought his other arm around her neck and clung to it to keep him in place as she walked slowly back to the river bank.

"Kendo!" Uraraka called across the water, wincing at the panic in her voice. "I need a way back across! Bakugo's hurt bad and I don't have enough mobility to get back while carrying him!"

"On it!" said Kendo, turning to say something to Monoma.

"Ura...ra…"

"Bakugo?"

"Fu...ck."

"Shh, don't talk right now. You got hurt. Just relax and let me help you."

"Buh…"

"I know you don't ever want help from anyone," Uraraka said softly, but sternly. She needed to make sure he didn't try to move. "But when you have, well 'batshit-fucking-crazy' plans, you're probably going to end up hurt. So you're going to have to suck it up and trust me, okay? If you do any more damage to your arm, I don't know if Recovery Girl will be able to fix it. Just sit still."

He started to say something else, but then slumped against her. Uraraka could feel his heartbeat in her back, so she knew he was still alive, but she looked anxiously back at Kendo.

She wasn't across the lake anymore, but dragging herself onto the bank in front of Uraraka.

"Hell of a swim," she said, wincing when she saw Bakugo up close. "I'm going to make a path for you with my hands, okay? I'm strong enough that you can walk across them. Monoma will do the same from his side. I'm worried that if we try to fly with Bakugo it'll jostle him too much."

Uraraka was grateful for that, not only because she didn't want to hurt Bakugo further, but also because she wasn't sure she had the strength left to float herself again.

Kendo grew her hands larger than Uraraka had ever seen them and placed one next to the bank and the other farther out. Uraraka took a step onto the first one and found it incredibly steady. She walked slowly, careful of Bakugo on her back, until she got to the end of the second hand.

"I've only used Kendo's power a couple of times!" Monoma told her, the edge in his voice from earlier had softened. "I'll try to be as steady as I can, but be careful!"

She took a slow step out, only putting half her weight on his enlarged hand at first. It sunk a bit, but held, so Uraraka took another step and gave him all her weight. The strain on his face was evident, but he bit his lip and stayed steady as she walked across both his hands and landed on the other side of the river.

"We need to get him to Recovery Girl now," Uraraka said, heading toward the gate of Ground Beta as Kendo swam back across the river.

She noted with a pleased half-smile that Bakugo's rain had put out the fire entirely.

(Monoma)

Bakugo Katsuki might be a power hungry, victory obsessed, fanatic half-criminal, but he'd pushed Monoma into that building before blasting himself to the opposite river bank.

" _Get down, moron. And you have to put your hands together to release the dumpster. The nausea will go away."_

Then he'd run headlong toward the water and the whole city shook in his wake.

There was nothing overtly admirable about him, but Monoma was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, if he was a bit more like Bakugo Katsuki, he'd be the better for it.

(Bakugo)

He woke to harsh overhead lighting and crisp sheets and a dull throbbing ache in his left arm. Blinking once, then again, he caught the lingering scent of jasmine and lavender hanging in the air, but when he turned, it was to an empty chair beside his bed.

(Uraraka)

Her yoga mat sprawled on the grass outside the dorm, but Uraraka hovered over it, working to hold a Warrior 1 pose in the air. Her thin t-shirt and shorts caught the light breeze as it brushed over her skin. The sun was setting, painting the world around her a deep gold, and Uraraka closed her eyes and breathed.

 _In._

 _Out._

 _In._

 _Ou—_

"Oy, Uraraka."

"Wah!" she yelped as she wobbled, spinning forward and ending upside down in the air, her face centimeters from Bakugo's.

He pressed a finger into her forehead, pushing her back a bit, and she righted herself and released her Quirk so she could stand in front of him.

"How's your arm?"

"Nothing I can't live with," he grumbled, looking away and shrugging only his right shoulder. His left arm was bandaged from neck to fingers and he was still wearing loose hospital clothes, his school uniform from earlier that day tucked under his right arm. "The fuck did you do to your hand?"

She glanced down at the bandages that matched his, wrapped firmly around her palm. "Just a little burn, nothing I can't live with."

He frowned, and Uraraka matched his expression. If she'd been better, stronger, she could have lifted both the dump truck and the dumpster. If she'd been stronger, Bakugo wouldn't have had to come up with such a desperate plan.

 _Failure._

Bakugo appeared to be studying some point to her left. Not meeting her eye, he shoved his good hand in his pocket and said. "Anyway...uh, thanks."

The tips of his ears were pink and Uraraka thought that might be the first time ever she'd heard Bakugo Katsuki utter that word.

"What?" she asked, dumbfounded. It was her stupid weight limit that had gotten him hurt. Why was he thanking her?

"Don't make me say it again, shit-wit," he growled.

"But I...you…" Uraraka fumbled for words. "You had to do that because I wasn't strong enough—"

"I didn't _have_ to do anything. I don't do shit I don't want to. And it was that fucking Copycat kid that was too weak to handle your Quirk and that fucked us from the start. _You_ didn't have to come find me after I miscalculated the kickback of the deadfall."

He was...pouting, and Uraraka felt a genuine smile fight its way onto her face for the first time that day. "I don't do anything I don't want to do, either. Not anymore. Wait, did you say the _deadfall_? You tried that without me? Are you crazy?"

"Bat shit fucking crazy," he said in such a matter-of-fact tone that Uraraka laughed.

It felt good, to laugh. She'd been so caught up in her own head all day that she hadn't been able to be in the moment at all. She'd delved so deep into the thought that she wasn't cut out for heroism that she'd started to believe it.

He gave her side eye and his pout lessoned just slightly.

"It was pretty cool, you know," Uraraka told him, crossing her arms against the chill that seeped into the air as the sun disappeared beyond the walls of U.A. "The way you made it rain like that. You put out most of the fire by yourself!"

"Says the girl who carried a dump truck full of water across the fucking city."

Uraraka blushed slightly at that and waved him off, no longer able to meet his eye. "Nah, you were way cooler. You're always thinking up new ways to use your Quirk. Who would have ever thought that explosions could put out a fire?"

Bakugo rolled his eyes, but she thought she saw a smile flicker across his lips, more a show of teeth than an upturning of his mouth, but a smile all the same.

"And who would have ever thought your skinny ass could carry a godsdamned river?"

She was unused to it—the praise. More often than not, people told her that she 'did her best' or 'tried her hardest.' They never straight up made her sound so... _awesome_.

She was still smiling, frowning now seeming the more difficult of the two options. "Well, when you put it that way...I do sound pretty cool, huh?"

Bakugo rolled his eyes again as he began walking toward the dorms. "Yeah, yeah, fucking fierce. But don't get too cocky, Uraraka. I'll kick your ass."

As he passed her, he shoved something into her arms, and Uraraka looked down the see the black hoodie he'd been wearing earlier that day over his school uniform.

"Dress warmer next time, idiot," he said, not meeting her eyes. "It's fucking October."

Uraraka opened her mouth to thank him, but no sound came out. Bakugo Katsuki was doing something _nice_. Something that didn't benefit him in any way. _What the heck?_

But he turned back to her before he got to the dorm entrance, his red eyes bright as he glared at her and pointed to the hoodie in her arms. "Tell _anyone_ about that and I will _fucking annihilate you._ "

She grinned at him. "Thanks, Bakugo." _For everything_ , she almost added.

But she didn't want to push her luck as he gave her a final "Tch" and trudged inside.

She pulled it over her head, pleased that it was still warm from being pressed into Bakugo's side. The worn fabric was full of loose threads and the smell of cinnamon and gunpowder clung to it like it was an intrinsic characteristic of the cloth. The cuffs of the sleeves were jagged and singed, and Uraraka smiled as she observed them.

Of course.

 _Bzzt._

Uraraka jumped a bit as her phone went off. She picked it up from where it sat on her yoga mat, the bright light stinging her eyes a bit now that they'd grown used to the twilight.

[18:58 Ryukyu to Group: Hado + Interns] All the pieces are in place. We move tonight.

Uraraka twisted her padded fingers into the burnt sleeve of Bakugo's hoodie.

She could reconsider her motives later, but for now, she was not fragile.

She was _not_ a failure.

She'd be fucking fierce.

* * *

A/N: I read the manga on a fan translated site, so some of the quotes aren't the same are they are in the official release (honestly I like the fan translation better), which is why in Bakugo's dream Uraraka says "You look up to the figure All Might strikes when he wins," rather than "You've been won over by the way All Might looks when he wins."

Also, this is like the slowest of slow burns, but I really want to get into character development and make it realistic, so bear with me.

Please review!


	11. Chapter 11: There's a Hole in My Soul

A/N: Thank you thank you thank you for all the wonderful comments!

This chapter relies on the assumption that you're familiar with raid on the Eight Precepts Hideout. I didn't want to rehash the manga, so there is little to no explanation of who characters are that you know from the manga (Mirio, Rock Lock, Nighteye, etc). I felt that Uraraka and the Ryukyu group got kind of shafted in that fight, so I wanted to focus only on their part of things and beef it up a bit. I've kept it as true to canon as possible, though I've altered some of the dialogue so that it better fits in with the style of this story.

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven: There's a Hole in My Soul (Can You Fill It?)**

(Uraraka)

If someone had told her how this day would end, if they'd told her about the energy draining monster, or the property destruction, or Nighteye, or Lemillion, or the League showing up, if they'd told her about the way her body and her heart would ache and that she'd have to sit through countless debriefing interviews where they'd hammer out all the painful details over and over and _over_ …

Even if she'd known all of it ahead of time, Uraraka still would've chosen to go.

As it stood, she _didn't_ know about any of it.

The hero task force gathered in the Nighteye offices, clock ticking toward 4:00, and the starry sky outside the windows began to glow a faint pink as Uraraka leaned against Tsuyu and suppressed a yawn. Hado rested an elbow on Uraraka's shoulder and didn't try to hide her own tired yowl, but the older girl was smiling through her bleary eyes.

Fat Gum walked the room, passing out sandwiches from a large, lumpy sack. The veteran heroes all took them without question, tearing into them as they waited for Nighteye to give his briefing.

Uraraka's stomach turned, nerves bringing up nausea, and the thought of eating made her want to throw up.

"It ain't easy," Fat Gum told her, a sympathetic look on his face as he pushed a wrapped sandwich into her hands. "But if you don't eat now, you'll regret it later."

"It's the anticipation that's killer," Hado said, pushing off Uraraka and delicately unwrapping her own sandwich. She took a giant bite. "Mmf. One yer athually ow there," she swallowed thickly, "the adrenaline and instinct kicks in and you don't have time to be nervous. Doesn't your suit have fancy tech to negate nausea?"

Uraraka nodded, nibbling on the crust of the bread. "It doesn't negate though, just lessens. I don't think it can trick my brain into not being nervous."

"I feel the same way, Ochako hun," said Tsuyu. She put a finger to her cheek and studied the sandwich in her other hand. "I hope we are able to make a difference today, ribbit."

Nighteye stood behind the desk at the front of the room and surveyed the heroes gathered before him. He pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose and began without preface.

"We've confirmed that Eri is being kept at the house we've been scouting out. It is a hub for the Eight Precepts of Death, and there appears to be more to the facility than meets the eye. If they are able to create drugs from Eri and her Quirk, they would require some type of chemical lab, which is definitely not present in the above ground complex."

"You mean she's at home!?" several voices exclaimed, many of the heroes looking exasperated that they'd spent so much time tracking and investigating for her to turn up in the most obvious place.

"You mean to say our investigations were a waste of time?" asked Rock Lock, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, we received new intelligence from them," said Nighteye, calm and collected as ever as he pushed his glasses up again. "You and Centipeder gleaned enough intel that we've been able to draw up a reasonably detailed map of the inside of the house, and I've been able to map out some of the underground tunnels thanks to my recent discovery."

"How did you confirm Eri is there?" Ryukyu asked, speaking over some heroes who started to protest Nighteye's ambiguity. "And what exactly was your 'recent discovery'?"

"A few days ago," Nighteye began, pulling a bright pink box from under the desk. "A member of the Eight Precepts purchased a toy aimed at young girls at a local department store."

Uraraka recognized the toy, Raving Rabid: Pretty Pure 10, from commercials she'd seen on tv. To her knowledge, they were indeed extremely popular among young girls, though she couldn't really see the appeal. As a kid, Uraraka had always been more interested in building blocks and Legos. Of course, her parents had never had the money to buy her the really fancy toys, but she'd never had the thought to care.

"Say what?" exclaimed Fat Gum. "What if the Eight Precepts guy is just some schlub who's into that kinda thing? It's a great big world out there, Nighteye!"

Hado shuddered beside her. "Gross."

Nighteye sighed in a world-weary sort of way. "No. I confirmed he wasn't merely pursuing a personal hobby. The things he was saying removed all doubt—he wasn't sure about the name of the toy, and the sales clerk had to correct him numerous times. I found one of the toys myself rather easily, and in offering it to him, I was able to activate my Foresight and see him returning to the house and giving the toy to Eri. This, in turn, confirmed the existence of the underground compound, and I was able to map out the route he took to get to Eri."

"All right!" said Hado, turning to Uraraka and Tsuyu as the different heroes and interns began to break off into their groups. She shoved the rest of the sandwich into Uraraka's mouth and grinned. "Let's do our best out there today! We'll show 'em we're a part of a Top Ten agency for a reason!"

The older girl did the same to Tsuyu, plucking the uneaten sandwich out of her hand and shoving it into the younger girl's mouth.

Uraraka chewed slowly, her eyes wandering to Deku and Mirio, talking nearby. They were getting fired up, and Uraraka clenched a fist in front of her. If Deku was ready to go, she would be too. He'd had a rough time of it since he'd seen Eri the first time, but they were ready to give it another go and get her out.

Uraraka was ready to make a difference.

They left the Nighteye offices a little after six to meet up with the police before making their way to the Eight Precepts headquarters.

Standing outside the police station, Uraraka felt the nausea rising up again, but swallowed it. She glanced again at Deku, who had a hard glint in his eyes as he stared ahead, ready for whatever came their way.

 _Be bold like Deku, Ochako!_ she thought, but then shook her head and slapped her face gently. _No, be fucking fierce!_ She smiled a bit in spite of herself and clapped her hands against her cheeks a few times. "Have some faith in your damn self, Ochako!"

"What was that, hun?"

"Nothing! Nothing, Tsuyu, hun. Let's kick some Precept butt!"

"Ribbit!"

The police officer in charge addressed them briefly. "Hey, heroes! There's no helping it if it gets a little rough out there. If you see even the slightest hint of suspicious behavior or resistence, please deal with it immediately! Our opponents are Yakuza types who, at the very least, survived long enough to see this day. So I want every one of you fulfilling your roles to the utmost, without letting your guards down for a single second!"

There were smiles and clenched fists and nods of agreement among the heroes.

"Now," said the officer. "MOVE OUT!"

At 8:30, they all stood outside the compound of the Eight Precepts, and Uraraka's nerves sizzled and popped as she stared at the walled but otherwise nondescript building.

"I'm going to ring the bell and read the warrant," said the commanding officer. "In my experience, these Yakuza types huddle up and hide when threatened by heroes or the police, so as soon as I finish reading, we move in, got it?"

His finger was on the keypad on the wall when the gate leading inside exploded.

The police who had been at the front of the group were thrown into the air as a giant, hulking, beast of a man appeared, and Uraraka tensed to jump into the air and save the men, but Eraserhead and Deku had already moved, grabbing them out of the air and landing safely.

"Shoot," Uraraka muttered, shaking herself and readying to enter the complex. The Eight Precepts member in front of them was huge, but no match for the sheer number of heroes before him.

It was clear the Eight Precepts had been expecting them, which was a setback, but nothing they hadn't talked about and prepared for. As long as Eri was still inside, they had to try.

The giant in front of them wore a plague mask, marking him as one of Overhaul's "Expendables," so they couldn't see his face as he shouted, "I'm getting pumped! So tell me heroes, WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT?"

He jumped toward them again, but Ryukyu surged to the front of the crowd.

"Get back!" she yelled to the police. He skin shifting and rippling until a great dragon stood in her place. She intercepted the blow from the monster and grabbed his arm to hold him in place. "For the time being, we should try not to split our forces!" she continued. "The Ryukyu Group will deal with this one, everyone else continue onward!"

Uraraka lept into the air, Hado at her side, as the older girl said, "We'll provide support!"

"Okay!" Uraraka agreed, swallowing the pang of regret that shot through her at being left behind. _We have to do everything we can wherever we are!_

"Tsuyu, Uraraka, do your best!" Kirishima yelled as he ran with the other heroes into the hideout.

Deku glanced back at her over his shoulder, a seriousness in his eyes that he only got when he was fighting. "We'll see you after!"

"Mm," Uraraka said, nodding and clenching her fist in front of her before turning on the villain with Hado and Tsuyu.

"Rikiya Katsukame," Ryukyu informed them as she blocked one of his incoming punches with a wing. The ground beneath her claws crumbled slightly. "He can touch someone and inhale their vitality to make him grow larger. Be on your guard!"

Uraraka knew she would have to get close to him to use her Quirk. Once she got him in the air, he'd be at a serious disadvantage unless he had some other trick up his sleeve.

"I'll distract him, you go," Hado said beside her. The blue-haired girl grit her teeth and launched a shockwave at the villain. It hit him in the side and he spun to the right, so Uraraka dove at him from the left, pressing the pads of her fingers into his leg and sending him into the air.

"What—" He twisted, trying to gain his bearings but unable to do so.

"Nicely done!" Ryukyu said, jumping on him and slamming him back down into the ground. The police rushed to her side with large metal containment rings that they were easily able to secure around the unconscious, floating figure.

They regrouped on the ground and Ryukyu, human again, pulled up a map on her smart watch. "If they've reached Eri's room, they should be about...there." She pointed to a crossroads about a block from where they were standing. "I'd say they've probably run into some resistance, since the Eight Precepts seemed to know we were coming, so chances are they haven't reached the goal yet."

As if in response, the ground below them rumbled.

"It sounds like things are getting out of hand inside," Hado said, pointing to the entrance the others had stormed through. "Let's hurry."

Uraraka nodded and made to follow, but then she felt the energy just drain out of her. She staggered forward, going down on one knee to steady herself, and saw Tsuyu doing the same beside her.

"Huh?"

The sound of a great intake of breath came from behind her and Uraraka turned to see the villain they'd captured growing larger.

"I was sure I knocked him unconscious!" Ryukyu yelled.

But Uraraka didn't understand. They knew the nature of this guy's Quirk. He had to be touching someone to take their energy, unless—

"Looks like that booster drug I got from Irinaka is finally starting to kick in!" he said, grinning madly. "Now I can absorb just by inhaling!"

He breathed in again and Uraraka felt her body start to shake. She stumbled to where Ryukyu huddled with some of the police, Tsuyu right behind her, and collapsed on the ground.

"We'll take turns distracting him," Ryukyu said. "If it's the Trigger drug that's doing this, it won't last long. When it wears off we'll take him down for good. For now, let's keep him away from the civilians."

"Right!" Uraraka and Tsuyu agreed. Ryukyu transformed again and flew at the villain, clenching her jaws down on his shoulder.

Hado appeared then, hands on her knees as she tried to keep herself standing. "Once Ryukyu gets his attention, hopefully his breath won't focus us."

"I will go next, ribbit," Tsuyu said, studying Ryukyu. "None of us will be able to last against him for long with that level of energy drain. We should be ready to switch out as often as possible."

Uraraka nodded. "I'll go after you."

Sitting and waiting, huddled there with the police, Uraraka didn't feel very heroic. The ground continued to rumble beneath her and she bit her lip and clenched her fists, wishing she had some idea of what was going on below.

Ryukyu fell hard on the ground after Rikiya landed a solid hit to her back. Her dragon form flashed and receded, and Tsuyu sprung into action, whipping her tongue out and grabbing their mentor before a giant fist crashed into the earth where she'd been.

Uraraka steeled her nerve and pushed herself onto her feet, "Tsuyu, take care of Ryukyu. I'll go _now_."

"Do your best, Ochako hun."

"Always."

(Bakugo)

When Bakugo trudged down the stairs and into the common area that morning, he could practically feel the bags hanging under his eyes. The injury the day before and the healing afterward had done a serious number on him and his body felt like it could sleep for a week.

He'd done it though—put out the fire—and the look on Uraraka's face when he'd told her about the deadfall was so good it almost brought a smile to his face in spite of the fact that it was _morning_.

Half-and-Half and the class vice rep were in the kitchen on breakfast duty, the former lazily freezing fruit and tossing it into a blender while the latter scooped in heaping doses of protein powder.

Most of the class was already assembled, waiting for their smoothie, when All Might entered the dorm.

"Morning everyone," he said, and Bakugo noted that he seemed a bit on edge. Eraserhead was the only teacher who really frequented the dorms, and that was mostly to make sure everyone was keeping the place clean. It was odd to see All Might standing in the common area—something must be up.

Subconsciously, his eyes flicked around the room, noting that Uraraka, Kirishima, Frog Girl, and Deku were the only ones not there.

"I'll be hosting your home room today, students," All Might explained, walking over to the couch and picking up the remote. "Aizawa is out in the field with some of your classmates, and I thought it would be beneficial to glean what we can from the news. We—"

He was cut off as about six different people jumped on him, grabbing for the remote in an attempt to get the tv turned on faster.

Bakugo rolled his eyes, but he couldn't really blame them. His own hands had twitched as soon as he'd said the word 'classmates.' Of course shitty Deku was out in the field today. Of course he was probably getting to take on villains while Bakugo sat around like an asshole.

It was the alien girl who wrestled the remote from All Might's hand, and she flipped to the main Mustafa City news channel immediately.

And, of course, it was to an image of Uraraka. She was staggering to her feet, stepping around police and other heroes as she stared down the fucking _huge_ villain in front of her. The camera seemed to be far away from the fight, so they couldn't hear anything that was being said, but All Might started narrating anyway.

"Your classmates were asked to participate in a top secret mission—a raid on the hideout of the Eight Precepts of Death. They're a group of Yakuza, led by a villain called Overhaul, and we think they've been behind the distribution of street drug known as Trigger and a more dangerous Quirk-erasing drug that we've only seen in action briefly."

"So they went to stop the creation of these drugs?"

All Might didn't answer the vice rep's question immediately, but paused as Uraraka launched herself into the air on the screen. She floated up above the villain and dropped toward him, but he swatted her away. She caught herself and kept floated, rolling backward in the air to dodge a swipe from his massive hand.

She wasn't really fighting him, Bakugo noted. She was just keeping his attention, buying time. But for what?

And Overhaual and the Eight Precepts of Death. Bakugo had read about them. There were all sort of internet boards for villain activity and speculation, and from what he could tell, it was a pretty deadly group.

All Might turned to the vice rep then, a frown on his face. "Essentially, yes, but it's far more complicated than that. We believe these drugs are being made using the Quirk of a young girl, possibly Overhaul's own daughter. We think she might be in harm's way, and so the goal of the heroes out there today is first and foremost to get her out."

Uraraka landed and wiped sweat from her brow. Her legs were shaking beneath her, but she grabbed a telephone pole the villain had uprooted and swung it, hitting him square in the chest and sending him flying backward, away from the small group of heroes and police that were huddled nearby. He hit an already ruined section of the street and stayed down for a moment, giving Uraraka time to tag out with that blue-haired upperclassman.

"Most of the fight will be happening underground, but I thought you would like to see what you could."

"Thank you, All Might, sir!" said the four-eyed class rep, bowing deeply to the teacher. "We appreciate you informing us of the situation."

"Definitely," the pink alien agreed. "We wanna cheer on our classmates any chance we get!"

At the edge of the screen, Uraraka and Frog Girl turned, speaking quickly to someone out of range of the camera. Uraraka bit her lip, glancing back and forth between her blue-haired teammate and the villain and whoever she was talking to.

When the blue-haired girl started fighting, the villain seemed to deflate a bit, and it must've been the sign Uraraka's team had been waiting for—they all jumped into action, whoever they'd been speaking to forgotten. The dragon hero Ryukyu tackled the villain, Uraraka floated him, Froggy grabbed him with her tongue and the three of them whipped him down toward the pavement. The blue-haired girl hit them all with a great shockwave, sending the whole group crashing through the pavement and into whatever lay below.

Bakugo wouldn't lie, part of him was fucking _pissed_ that Uraraka and shitty Deku and the others got to be out there doing real work in the field. But another part of him dug his nails in his palms hard enough to draw blood as he and the rest of the class watched with bated breath to see if they would emerge unscathed.

(Uraraka)

Hado's shockwave combined with the weight of the villain as Uraraka released him was enough to send them all through the pavement. As they fell, Uraraka reached out and grabbed Tsuyu, easing their fall with her Quirk as chunks of the street crumbled down around them. Ryukyu and Hado landed next to them, the villain pinned beneath them.

As the dust clouds settled, Uraraka heard, "Ryukyu! You guys!"

The familiar voice was a shock to Uraraka's system. It was Deku, but she'd seen him above ground _seconds_ ago. He'd told them the pros needed assistance and then run off. He couldn't have been fighting down here...

"Deku?" she asked, blinking. "What?"

"Then who was the Deku from before?" Tsuyu asked.

"The League of Villains?" Ryukyu shouted suddenly, and Uraraka whirled to see Toga Himiko and two other League members looking down on them from the street above.

"I have no idea what's—" Uraraka started, but then it all clicked into place. Toga was here. There were two Dekus. Toga's Quirk had some to do with siphoning blood. And what she'd said when Uraraka downed her at the summer camp, " _You wanna be the same as the guy you like, it's only natural! So you, like, wear all the same things. But then you start not getting the same satisfaction from it, and then you start wanting to straight up_ become _that person. There's just no helping it!"_

Could Toga become someone who's blood she siphoned? But then why didn't she turn into _her_ after taking her blood that summer? Could she choose when to activate it? Could she still turn into Uraraka?

"Uravity!" Deku's voice broke through her thoughts, and she turned around to see his back as he ran, chasing what appeared to be Overhaul, but he looked...different. Like he'd turned into some sort of hybrid monster. "Uravity, I'm leaving Nighteye to you!"

And then she saw, amid the destruction, Deku's mentor. He was bleeding badly from several deep stab wounds, the worst of which was a large one in his stomach, a broken spike still sticking out. She rushed to his side, thoughts of Deku and Toga and the League utterly obliterated from her mind as she fell to her knees beside Nighteye. She checked his pulse—it was weak, so very very weak, but it was _there_ and it meant she had a chance to save him.

She would not fail.

Ryukyu and Tsuyu were at her side then, and Nighteye clasped Uraraka's hand. He heaved in a pained, rattling breath and said, "You will...all...be fine...At the...very least...right now he isn't….planning...on...targeting...you." He then reached out to touch the unconscious member of the Eight Precepts that lay sprawled on the ground beside him. "Overhaul is...going up to...the surface to…" he paused, his breath strained, but Uraraka didn't try to stop him from speaking. "To...pursue...Midoriya and Eri...and...kill…Midoriya."

Uraraka's heart turned to ice in her chest.

"No—" she started, choking on her own words. Nighteye was known for never being wrong. But she couldn't fathom that outcome, couldn't accept it.

"I...saw...it. Even if…you three...were...to...go after him...you...cannot...win."

But Uraraka's power was a fire bursting through her veins. She pushed herself up, floating all all the rubble off of Nighteye in one swift motion.

"So we're just supposed to sit around and do _nothing?_ " she spat at him. Even if he was her senior, even if he was on the brink of death, even if she _couldn't_ do anything, she wasn't going to accept this fate until it was final. "Nobody knows what the future holds until it happens! Not even you, Nighteye, sir. Have some faith in us—in all of us!"

And to her surprise, Nighteye's mouth curved into a smile.

"Froppy...Mirio should...be down...the hall, through that...hole in the wall. He's hurt...help him...please. Uravity...help me...to the...surface."

"Go ahead, Uravity," Ryukyu said, stomping down on the League of Villains member she'd knocked out while Uraraka had been rushing to Nighteye's side. "Get Nighteye to the ambulance! Keep him stable and avoid removing the spike in his stomach! Now go!"

Uraraka nodded and placed her padded fingers to Nighteye's forehead. He groaned a bit as he floated upward, but Uraraka wrapped her arms underneath him and secured him to her chest, keeping him as steady as possible as she activated her Quirk on herself and floated them both up through the hole in the street above. She saw Deku from the corner of her eye, Eri on his back, fighting the huge monster that Overhaul had morphed into by using his Quirk to combine his body with those of his subordinates. Uraraka gagged a bit at the thought.

She landed and searched for an ambulance. There was one in the distance, its siren blaring, and it sounded like it was heading her way.

"Nighteye…" she said, releasing her Quirk on herself and making her way in the direction of the siren. Her eyes were glued to Deku as she walked. "Deku...he's not going to die, right?"

Nighteye grimaced, but he too looked up at Deku, floating above the city as he jumped from building to building. It was impossible to tell if he or Overhaul had the upper hand.

"That was the...unchangeable future...that I saw...but this…" He trailed off as Deku landed a thunderous kick on Overhaul. It was more powerful than Uraraka had ever seen. It was almost...All Mightian.

Overhaul's giant, mangled body crashed to the earth and the modifications receded, leaving him looking human and...down for the count?

Deku seemed to be in pain, what looked like white light jumped all across his body and he went down on one knee on the street, grunting in agony.

Movement caught Uraraka's eye, and she looked to see Overhaul standing back up.

"Sorry Nighteye," she said, releasing her Quirk on him and placing him gently on the ground. "But I'm going to do everything I can to change the future you saw!"

And then she was flat out sprinting toward Overhaul, all thought for her own safety forgotten as she launched herself at him. He was so focused on lunging at Deku and Eri that he didn't see her coming, and Uraraka slammed a knee into his back and grabbed his wrists, twisting his arms behind him as she threw him face first into the ground. She loomed over him, holding him with all her strength, even though he appeared to be knocked out.

Ryukyu, in dragon form, climbed out of the hole in the street then, Tsuyu, Eraserhead, Amajiki, and Mirio on her back.

"What's the situation here?" her mentor called.

"Overhaul is down," Uraraka said, nodding to the form pinned below her. "Nighteye is behind me. But something isn't right! It's Deku—he used some crazy huge power to knock Overhaul out of his combined form, but now he's in a lot of pain!"

Eraserhead, supported by Tsuyu, pulled off his glasses and stared at Deku and Eri, presumably canceling out both of their powers in order to stop whatever was hurting Deku, but if it was Eri...what was her Quirk?

Together, Deku and Eri passed out, falling face first into the ground, but Deku's arms were shielding the little girl, keeping her from harm, and Uraraka breathed a short breath of relief.

The police arrived then, and she turned Overhaul over to them and rushed back to Nighteye. She lifted him in her arms again and walked with the others to meet up with the ambulances, clenching her teeth as his breathing became shallower and shallower as she walked. As she went, she scanned the area. Nighteye seemed to be in the worst shape, though Mirio and Kirishima both looked pretty bad too. Fat Gum…wasn't fat anymore, but seemed all right. Amajiki and Hado were both on their feet and so were Tsuyu and Ryukyu. Eraserhead was hurt, but could stand with help, and Deku was regaining consciousness and hauling himself up.

The ambulances appeared, and Uraraka walked as steady as she could to meet them, but right before she handed Nighteye over to the medics, he said, "Ur...av...ity...Thank...you."

"For what?" she whispered, and for the first time she noticed that her eyes were stinging with tears as she looked down at him.

"For giving...me...faith...in a...better future."

She sniffed, but forced a smile onto her face as he met her eyes. "Just have faith in _your_ future right now, Nighteye. Then we can worry about the rest."

Deku rushed to their side then, tears in his own eyes as he saw the state his mentor was in. The medics put Nighteye on a stretcher and he spoke a few soft words to Deku as Uraraka turned away.

Only to be enveloped in a hug. Blue hair obscured her vision and Uraraka sniffed again, trying to get her tears under control.

"You did so good!" Hado exclaimed. She pushed away and put her hands on Uraraka's cheeks, squishing her face a bit. "I knew you were someone I wanted on my team!"

"Thanks," said Uraraka, her face heating a bit.

"I'm off to make sure Tamaki gets that wound on his face checked out," she said, putting a finger to her own cheek in a very Tsuyu-like gesture. "Knowing him, he's too worried about Mirio to worry about himself."

She hurried off, leaving Uraraka to watch as the ambulances loaded up and began to drive away. She and Tsuyu were among the last to be taken, since they'd suffered the lightest injuries.

"Ochako, hun," Tsuyu said, sitting beside her in the back of an ambulance. Ryukyu and Bubble Girl sat across from them, looking tired and solemn.

"Hmm?"

"You make a very good hero."

"Thanks, Tsuyu, hun," she said, Nighteye's broken body was the only image she could bring to mind from the battle and she couldn't meet Tsuyu's eye. What if she hadn't done enough for him? What if he didn't make it? "You're a good hero, too."

(Bakugo)

The class gasped as Deku knocked the giant villain out of the sky, and Baguko watched All Might's knuckles turn white as he balled his hands into fists.

Bakugo knew what he was feeling.

All he wanted was to be out there himself, fighting. And Bakugo was the reason All Might couldn't be there.

"Look out, Midoriya!" yelled the alien girl, and Bakugo's eyes snapped back to the screen. The villain—Overhaul—was standing from where he'd been beaten to the ground, but Deku was writhing in pain, perhaps some sort of side effect of his Quirk, and hadn't noticed.

"No—" All Might said under his breath, and Bakugo could almost hear his teeth grinding.

And then Uraraka was there, slamming into Overhaul from behind and knocking him the fuck out with a faceful of pavement.

The class erupted.

"Holy shit that was so freaking cool!"

"Yay for Deku and Uravity! Get 'em!"

"MVPs! MVPs!"

Bakugo found himself smiling triumphantly as Uraraka twisted Overhaul's arms behind his back and pressed her knee into his spine to keep him down. _This_ was the Uraraka he knew. None that weak shit from when she let that other villain take her down so the Pretty Fucker could save her.

But then he caught the eye of the class vice rep, and she gave him a look like she fucking knew something and he immediately stopped smiling. He flipped her off and she turned away, but the corner of her mouth was still tilted upward.

Fucking great.

(Uraraka)

The news hit her like a bullet to the chest.

 _Sir Nighteye has passed away._

She'd been sitting in the hospital waiting room with the other lightly injured heroes, waiting her turn to be checked out, when the surgeon had entered to tell them what had happened.

Uraraka stared at her hands, open in her lap, padded fingertips facing up.

 _Sir Nighteye has passed away._

And then, the voice in her head that still sounded like Naegi: _You failed him_.

The door opened and closed again, but Uraraka didn't look up. She felt Tsuyu's hand on her back, but the touch didn't register.

Then suddenly, Eraserhead was kneeling in front of her. He'd never been overly verbal about his feelings, never given any indication that he cared for the students at all, but he grasped her hands in his and looked up into her eyes.

"Come with me. Let's talk."

He pulled her to her feet and Tsuyu stood beside her, taking one Uraraka's hands out of Eraserhead's and intertwining her large, frog-like fingers with the small padded ones. The three walked down the hall to a small conference room, and Eraserhead guided her to a chair and sat down across from her.

"I wish I could've been the one to tell you about Nighteye," he said. The circles under his eyes were darker than normal. "But it is what it is. Now I'm here to tell you that these things happen. People get hurt. People die. Every single hero that was out there today was ready to die. That's what it means when you accept the job."

"But I…" Uraraka began, her voice breaking as tears welled up in her eyes. "I can't help but think that I could've _done_ something. I was the one carrying him. And I put him down to save Deku—"

"And you did save him," Eraserhead said firmly. "You saved Deku _and_ Eri by taking Overhaul down like that. You proved Nighteye's Foresight wrong by making sure that Deku lived. That in itself meant more to Nighteye than I can tell you."

Tsuyu squeezed her hand.

"But what if I had—"

Eraserhead leaded across the table, gripping her shoulders and forcing her head up to meet his eyes. "You did everything you could, and it was more than enough in the grand scheme of things. The responsibility for Nighteye lies with us pros. And I won't tell you to suck it up or get over quickly, but take this and learn from it. Let it shape you and determine what you want to do moving forward."

Uraraka nodded and wiped tears from her eyes.

 _You failed him_.

After that, she spoke to several different police officers, heroes, and government officials, and all of them asked her to tell her side of the story. No matter how many times she said it, it didn't get easier.

She was separated from Tsuyu and the others for the interviews, and it was several hours later before she was led, tired, hungry, and miserable, into a room where Tsuyu, Deku, and Kirishima were waiting.

She collapsed into their arms as they swarmed her, and Uraraka wasn't sure who was holding who or if they were all supporting each other. Tears threatened to spill over for what felt like the hundredth time that day, but she found solace in the fact that the others were crying too.

"That was...hard." Kirishima said, one arm squeezing tight around Uraraka's back. "But like Eraser said, we've got to learn from it and move forward."

"He gave you the same speech, ribbit?"

"Yeah. He said there will always be mistakes and regrets, but you have to focus on the positives or it'll eat you up. And big positive—we saved Eri!"

Deku, across from her, had one arm around Tsuyu and the other around Kirishima, but withdrew them as he said, "But did you hear what happened to Overhaul? Shigaraki got to him."

" _What!?"_

Deku swallowed and nodded. "He stole the Quirk-erasing drug they used on Mirio and destroyed Overhaul's hands. And the thought of that drug in the hands of the League—"

Deku was visibly shaking, and Uraraka took her arms from Tsuyu and Kirishima and wrapped them around Deku instead, pulling him into a tight embrace.

"We'll get it back," she said, putting every ounce of resolve she could muster into that statement. "We'll turn this city upside down to destroy the League. We'll make sure no one else has to go through what Mirio did."

"And...if we can't?"

Uraraka pulled away and punched Deku lightly in the arm.

"We don't think that way. Nighteye was sure you were going to die today and you didn't, right? So we just keep having faith. We keep believing that we'll succeed. We're going to be heroes, right? We have to win."

And even though she herself couldn't fully believe what she was saying— _you failed him_ —the light that sparked in the eyes of her companions was enough to lift her own spirits a bit too.

"You're right, Uraraka," said Deku. "And…"

"What?"

" _You_ don't beat yourself up about Nighteye—you did everything you could. It's not your fault that he was hurt. It's Overhaul's."

Uraraka nodded tightly, willing herself to believe him.

It wasn't until Eraserhead returned to take them back to school that she realized.

Her heart hadn't skipped a beat when she'd hugged Deku.

(Bakugo)

They didn't return unscathed. At least, not in the ways that mattered. Sure they'd been healed from cuts and bruises, but when they returned to the dorms that night, their eyes had shifted—something there that hadn't healed yet. That maybe wouldn't heal, not for some time.

The other fucking shit-for-brain 1-Aers didn't see it, or they pretended not to as they swarmed them with cake and tea and empty words. He sat on the couch, away from the crowd, but he could hear them.

Earphones at least attempted to point out that maybe they weren't fucking okay, but was drown out by the louder students before her words could really register.

Then, Froggy, under her breath: "Are you okay, Ochako hun?"

"I...I want to save people." Her voice held both regret and resolve, and though Bakugo forcibly kept his eyes from seeking hers, he could imagine them—steel and broken glass together.

And he could imagine what happened, he knew Nighteye died in the hospital. He'd seen Uraraka whisk him off the battlefield. No doubt she thought she hadn't done enough.

He wondered if she felt like he did every time he looked at All Might.

Then Buzzbrain was beside him, inching into the spot next to him on the couch as he said, "Hey, Kacchan, what're you sulking about? You're here because you were worried too, right?"

But as Buzzbrain leaned forward, Bakugo stood. "I'm going to bed."

"So early? What are you, a grandpa?"

But Bakugo kept walking, unconcerned with what anyone else thought of him. He met Uraraka's eye as he passed, brief enough to make it look like an accident, and found that he'd been right—steel and broken glass and a steady raging storm.

And then he was stalking up to his room.

There was no way he was going to be able to sleep.

(Uraraka)

She'd excused herself to bed about an hour after they'd returned to the dorms, unable to deal with the praise and sympathy of her classmates any longer. She'd taken a page out of Deku's book and smiled through it, but it was beginning to wear on her.

She lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling and trying to block out the voice in her head that kept whispering, _You failed him._

Something important had been made clear to her today, though. She wasn't simply in the hero business to make money—she'd been drawn to it all along because ultimately, she wanted to save people. Not being able to save everyone hurt like hell.

But what if she _couldn't_ save people? What if wanting it wasn't enough?

"Stop it, Ochako," she said aloud.

Air. That would help. Fresh air always cleared her head.

She slid out of bed and grabbed her yoga mat. Glancing down at her leggings and thin t-shirt, she plucked Bakugo's hoodie from where it sat folded on her desk and pulled it over her head before stepping out onto her balcony.

The cool breeze hit her face and she felt better by a degree, but she activated her Quirk on herself and floated up to the roof of the dorm building—there was more room of there and it offered a nice view of the campus.

She was laying out her mat when the door to the stairwell clanged open. Uraraka jumped, falling immediately into a fighting stance as she waited for the intruder to appear.

"Fucking cool it, you damn weirdo."

"Bakugo?"

He trudged out of the dark stairwell with his hands in the pockets of his shorts, a signature Rage Aura Scowl on his face.

"The fuck are you doing up here?" His eyes flicked to his hoodie and back up to her face, but he didn't comment on it.

"I could ask you the same question."

"Couldn't sleep."

"Same here."

"Of fucking course," he growled under his breath. He walked to the railing that surrounded the roof and leaned against it, glaring out at grounds like the buildings had offended him.

Uraraka, still standing in the middle of the roof, studied his profile. The moonlight was glancing off his pale skin and giving his red eyes a sort of purple shine. It accentuated the contours of his muscle and the lines of his face, made more prominent in his scowl.

"Take a picture, round face. It'll last longer."

Uraraka ignored the jab and went to lean against the rail beside him, only realizing that she was twisting her hands in the burnt sleeves of his hoodie when he glanced down at the movement. There was something comforting in the ragged fabric.

"You skipped out early tonight," she said softly, looking up at the moon. It was nearly full and the stars shone unobscured.

"Tch."

She was quiet for a moment, but the voice in her head was whispering _you failed him_ , and she shut her eyes and breathed. When she opened her eyes again, Bakugo was watching her.

"I can't...nevermind." It's not like he would care about what was on her mind. If anything, he was probably pissed that he hadn't gotten to be a part of the mission.

"What?"

"Nothing important."

"It's got you worked the fuck up and unable to sleep, doesn't it?" he growled. Then, his voice a bit softer, he said, "You think it's your fault that Nighteye died."

"How did you—"

"It's fucking obvious, isn't it?"

"You don't have to be mean about it. I _know_ it's my fault and I don't need you to rub it in."

"Huh? That's not what I meant, but whatever."

"Then what _did_ you mean?"

"It's obvious that you would _think_ that it's your fault, dumbass."

"Oh."

"And maybe it was—"

"Hey!"

He cut her off with a look. "Maybe it was your fault, but even if it was, dwelling on it isn't going to do you any good."

Leave it to Bakugo to not mince words.

"But what if I'm…"

"Not cut out to be a hero?"

"Geez, get out of my head, you big jerk."

He had the nerve to chuckle at her and Uraraka punched him in the arm.

"Let me finish, shit-wit," he said, the hard edge to his voice was almost nonexistent, and Uraraka's eyebrows rose a bit. He punched her back, and she was rubbing the spot that would definitely bruise as he continued, "You've got to stop thinking like that. You're here aren't you? You got into the best fucking hero academy in the country. You're in the same class as _me_. And our whole damn class and probably most of Japan watched you take out _Overhaul_ and the Eight Precepts of Death on tv today."

It was the most she'd ever heard Bakugo say at one time, and she kept her mouth shut in case he continued.

He did.

"It's like you've got this kickass fighting spirit when you're in the moment, but then as soon as it's over all you think about is what you did fucking wrong."

She'd told everyone else to have faith today. And she couldn't even put her own words into practice.

"Oy." Warm, rough fingers on her chin forced her face up, his eyes bright and hard and full of fire as she met them. "Stop fucking looking _down_. You remember what you told me when we were practicing for All Might's exam? Some shit about how everyone expects you to be support, or thinks you're weak, or whatever. That they would assume that I would carry the team. But you know what I think? I think that that's what _you_ think too. You've let everyone else's opinion get to you. You've got to fucking have—"

"Have some faith in my damn self."

He looked at her surprised, and she forced herself to meet his eyes again.

"You said that to me once before, and you're right. You're _right_. So why is it so hard?"

"I don't know," he said, letting go of her face and turning back to look over the rail.

Her chin felt cold in breeze without the warm skin of his scarred palm.

There was a long moment of silence in which they both just stood, looking out at the sky, vast and shining above them.

It _was_ hard. It was impossible, really, not to judge her worth by the sum of her mistakes.

"I always looked up to All Might the most," Bakugo said after a while. His voice was rough, like the words took more effort to speak than they should've. "And he's out of commission now because of my stupid ass. There's no denying it. It's true. He came to save me and had to fight All for One to do it."

His hands curled into fists in front of him as he stared out at the sky. They shook slightly, and Uraraka knew he must've beat himself up about this many times over. He was right, there was no denying it, and yet, it wasn't the whole truth either.

"He'd do it again, you know. Even knowing the outcome, he'd still save you. I don't think he regrets it at all."

"And if _I_ regret it?"

Uraraka, heart twisting painfully, heard the words he didn't—wouldn't—say: _What if I wasn't worth it?_

"I don't know," she said again, honestly. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know. Maybe part of becoming a hero is learning how to live with your regrets."

He had a strange look on his face, like he wanted to say one thing but ended up saying another. "Would you do today again, knowing?"

"Yes."

"Then I'd say you're cut out to be a hero," he told her, jaw clenched a bit. "That's what heroes do, isn't it?"

"You mean besides pummeling the bad guys and always winning?"

The corner of his mouth twitched and he made to punch her again, but Uraraka blocked him.

"Yeah, besides that. They keep going even when everything else is going to shit."

"They give it an All Might 110%."

"Damn straight."

Another moment passed in easy silence, the breeze dancing around them, toying with the ends of Uraraka's hair and wafting that gunpowder and cinnamon scent toward her.

"Gods I wish I'd been there today."

Uraraka smiled a bit. "You'll have your provisional license soon, right?"

"Not soon enough."

"There was all kinds of property destruction," she teased, the weight in her chest beginning to dissipate. "You would've loved it."

A heartbeat passed.

And another.

"Oy, Uraraka."

"Mm?"

"You were badass as hell out there today."

Her face heated, but the weight in chest was suddenly gone altogether.

Yes, Nighteye had died. And maybe she could've done something to stop it, but she'd been true to her word. She'd been fierce. She'd been strong and heroic and badass as hell. She hadn't been able to save Nighteye, but she'd saved Deku and Eri. And although there was no way to equate one life to another, she supposed Nighteye was happy this way—happy that they'd proved his future wrong.

And she'd realized that saving people drove her. She'd realized her dream in being a hero wasn't as shallow as she thought. She realized there was something she could work for and find purpose in.

She glanced at Bakugo, seeing that the tips of his ears had gone pink in the moonlight.

"Tell anyone I said any of this shit and I'll fucking—"

"Annihilate me," Uraraka finished for him, grinning. "I know."

"Tch."

"Besides," she said, bumping her shoulder into his in a successful attempt to irritate him further. "Who would believe me if I told them? Lord Explosion Murder has a heart? They'd think I've gone insane."

"You _have_ gone crazy if that's what you think."

"Well you prefer 'bat shit fucking crazy' things, right? So maybe that means we can actually be friends now, eh?"

Bakugo opened and closed his mouth, whether in fury or shock, Uraraka couldn't tell, but she grinned at him and gathered up her yoga mat. It hadn't really occurred to her before, being friends with him, but the more she was able to coax him out of his explosive exterior, the more she saw beyond the anger and rage and hellfire to the beating heart beneath. And it would be nice, having a friend that was honest enough to expose her flaws _and_ remind her that she was so much more than her failures.

And maybe, if he'd let her, she could return the favor.

She climbed over the rail and started lowering herself back down to her room, feeling clear-headed and ready to move forward.

"Think about it, yeah Bakugo?"

"Tch."

She smiled again and dropped down onto her balcony.

Uraraka fell into bed with the balcony door open and her fingers wrapped up in the burnt sleeves of Bakugo's hoodie. And her dreams, laced with cinnamon and gunpowder, were full of never-ending sunlight.

* * *

A/N: In case you haven't noticed, I listen to Bastille a lot while writing. Words of confirmation (or constructive criticism) are every writer's love language! Please review!


	12. Chapter 12: Can You Hear My Heartbeat

Chapter Twelve: Can You Hear My Heartbeat Fucking Kicking?

(Bakugo)

Hands in his pockets, Bakugo trailed after All Might as they left provisional license training. Bakugo didn't really go for shit like that—the kids and the making connections and the _feelings_. But part of him thought that maybe...maybe it hadn't been a _complete_ waste of his time. Those kids, they'd been fucking vicious, and yeah people looked down on them because they were young, but what if the League of Villains got to them? What if the League _didn't_ look down on them? What if they offered to remove the shackles of heroism like they'd tried to do for him?

What if the hero system was unwittingly breeding the next generation of villains?

But he and Todoroki and the Bald Guy and the Glamour Girl had come up with a pretty damn good solution. And part of Bakugo—the same part that inherently understood why those kids were violent and hateful—hoped that the things he'd told the ring leader stuck.

" _If all you ever do is look down on people, you won't be able to recognize your own weaknesses."_

It was true. He'd learned it the hard way. He'd looked down on the fucking nerd and then Deku had become All Might's successor. He hadn't trusted Uraraka during their exam and she was probably the only reason they didn't outright flunk on the spot. With both of them, Bakugo had been so busy singing his own praises that he hadn't noticed someone else gaining ground, and instead of learning from either of them, he tried to push them back beneath him.

And Bakugo was losing to both of them because of it. Not that he'd ever admit it.

Todoroki trailed behind them.

Bakugo didn't look back for anyone, but All Might did, and it was when the former Number One hero turned and looked beyond Bakugo to study the Half-and-Half bastard behind him that Bakugo glanced back too.

His head was down, stupid shitty hair falling into his face. Bakugo had heard the talk with Endeavor after the lesson. He knew Todoroki was probably stuck on complicated family shit.

It had been crass and thoughtless, what Bakugo had said during the lesson. (But when was he _not_ crass and thoughtless?)

" _Sometimes you need violence to put them in their place!" he spat at the Glamour Girl. But Todoroki had chimed in, unhelpfully, with a "That's where you're wrong, Bakugo."_

 _The words came out before he stopped to think: "That's how I was raised, you know!"_

But it wasn't, not really. Sure he and his mother threatened to kill each other about a hundred times a minute, but she would never go so far as to maim him. And yelling those words right in Todoroki's scarred face...well. Bakugo never claimed to be anything other than a humongous asshole.

"Young men," All Might began, looking back and forth between the two of them. "For what reason do you suppose we are equipped with Quirks?"

Bakugo stopped walking, and Todoroki caught up to stand beside him.

"To beat villains," said Bakugo. It was the answer he'd given all his life, but it felt sort of hollow now, looking at the withering form of the greatest victor, standing Quirkless before him.

"But why do you suppose _you_ have an explosion Quirk? And Young Todoroki, why were you gifted with fire and ice?"

"Because my dad made sure that he had a kid with the strongest Quirk he could come up with," Todoroki said, the edge in his voice old and sharp and biting.

"But why _you_? Why do you suppose it was you and not one of your siblings that was granted this exact power?"

"Because I'm the only one that didn't want it."

All Might simply nodded and turned to Bakugo. "And you?"

He didn't really have an answer. His Quirk was strong and flashy, and it matched his personality, but the Hands Guy with the League thought that Explosion was better suited to a villain, and Bakugo wondered, sometimes, if maybe he'd been right. What if he'd missed something? What if his dream to be a hero was just a misguided desire to be the strongest?

When he didn't answer, All Might said, "Young Todoroki, I think that perhaps you were granted with this dichotomy of power because you are the only one who can bring the two together. You have a great desire to be nothing like your father, and perhaps you are meant to use his power in a way that shows _him_ how best to do it. It is because you do not want such power that you are the best person to have it."

Out of the corner of his eye, Bakugo saw Todoroki's face shift just slightly.

"And Young Bakugo," All Might said, turning to him. Bakugo almost flinched under his caring gaze. "You have a Quirk that would be disastrous in the wrong hands. You have been trusted with something great because you are worthy of great trust. I have seen you use your Quirk with more skill, thought, and versatility than any other student in the hero course, and perhaps many pro heroes out on the streets. You want to take something that is made for breaking and use it to save, and _that_ is why you are so deserving of it."

In spite of (or perhaps _because_ of) everything, Bakugo's eyes burned.

It was one thing to admire All Might from afar. To watch him kicking villain ass on tv. It was another thing entirely to speak to him, to know him, especially now that Bakugo knew the truth behind his power. All Might was almost something too uniquely good to ever aspire to—he didn't just want to take down villains or save those in need. He wanted to save _everyone_. He wanted to save them from everything, even from themselves.

And it wasn't so hard to see why he'd chosen sappy, doe-eyed Deku as his successor.

Bakugo wanted to tell him to fuck off and mind his own damn business. He didn't need saving. He didn't need encouragement or affirmation. But it was _All Might_ , and well...maybe a bit of affirmation wasn't the worst thing.

Even if Bakugo was the reason All Might only had words for weapons now.

"What's it got to do with shit?" Bakugo grumbled, his voice more petulant than he intended. Force of habit.

"Because 'why' is often the most important question a hero can ask. More than 'how can I do this' you should wonder 'why am _I_ able to do this, and why do I _choose_ to do this?' Once you know why, everything else will come easier. You both struggle with your own 'why,' and I believe that is at the heart of your failure at the provisional license exam."

He paused for a moment, looking back and forth between Bakugo and Todoroki, and Bakugo found himself clenching his teeth, unable to meet All Might's eyes.

"Young Todoroki, you believe your greatest motivation is being different from your father, being something other than what he wants you to be. And Bakugo, my boy, you believe victory above all else to be your driving force. Both of these ideas are shallow, and not the things that will make you great heroes. There is more to both of you, and I suggest you take some time to look within and figure out what truly drives you."

He turned then and started walking once more toward the station, and Bakugo shoved his hands deeper in his pockets as he followed, Todoroki a silent shadow beside him.

Bakugo had never bothered too much with wondering why he wanted to be a hero. He'd always been good at everything, naturally talented and smart and things just came easy to him. When his Quirk manifested, it was really fucking strong, and Bakugo had known that he was meant to be great. He was _meant_ to be a hero. To be the number one. He was the best, and so he should always win, just like All Might.

But had he _only_ admired All Might for the fact that he never lost? That there was no hero that could hold a candle to him and no villain could stand against him? If Bakugo aspired only to be the best, why hadn't he wanted to be the villain that could beat even All Might?

What if, deep down, that _was_ what he wanted? What if that was why he tried to never think too deeply about his motivation.

As they boarded the train, hoods up and heads down to keep from being recognized, Bakugo pulled his hands from his pockets and noticed that were bleeding. When Recovery Girl healed him from that fuck up during remedial lessons, she must've unintentionally healed some of the calluses that had built up on his palms, and now his skin was raw and weak.

Fucking perfect.

He clenched his fists and shoved them back into his pockets before All Might or Todoroki could notice, but they both seemed to be caught up in their own shit and weren't paying attention anyway.

Bakugo wouldn't lie. This hero thing was _hard._ Much harder than he ever anticipated growing up. It all looked so easy on tv, taking down villains, saving the day—he'd never really considered that it was more than a fight of the body. Being a hero was also a fight of the mind. You had to want it and know why you wanted it. You had to keep reminding yourself and reevaluating your motivation.

It wasn't easy when you weren't sure of your motivation to begin with.

He felt eyes on him, and Bakugo scanned the train. Someone he didn't recognize, a girl maybe a year or two younger than him, was watching him from under her own hooded jacket. She was small and thin, with limp black hair and patchwork clothes, more urchin than anything, but her eyes were studious and... _familiar_ somehow, even if he didn't recognize her face.

A memory, then, of an event and all the dreams that followed, clawed into his mind: " _What say you join us?"_

Those eyes. They were yellow.

He wouldn't start a fight here on the train, but the girl just kept watching him, and grinned with small sharp teeth like she could read his thoughts. But she wasn't the blonde girl with the pigtails from the League of Villains, even though the eyes were the same.

She blinked, and suddenly her eyes were brown, a warm honey color that made Bakugo wonder if he'd imagined the whole thing.

She got off at the next stop, and Bakugo would've followed her if All Might hadn't been with him. One thought stuck in his mind with an aching sort of clarity: the League of Villains wasn't finished with him yet.

Bakugo growled low in his throat.

 _Bring it on._

(Kirishima)

Bakugo was in a foul mood.

So, nothing particularly out of the ordinary, but this was one of the rare ones where he was scary quiet instead of loud and belligerent. Even Kaminari's teasing wasn't causing him to snap.

Something was wrong.

The three boys sat in the cafeteria during lunch. Bakugo had missed morning classes for his provisional licence training, but even that didn't usually piss him off _this_ much. Kirishima glanced to where Todoroki sat a few tables down, and he looked a bit more pensive than usual, too. He was outright ignoring whatever conversation Yaoyorozu was having with Iida and Midoriya.

The only other major change in the room was Naegi Nobusuke.

Kirishima, like everyone else, had watched the popstar saunter easily into the cafeteria and guide Uraraka to an out-of-the-way table along the wall. They were just talking, and Uraraka seemed to be in a better mood than when Kirishima had last seen her the night before. She was _dating_ Naegi. He was probably there to help her cope with the loss of Nighteye.

Bakugo snapped his chopsticks in half for the second time in five minutes, and Kirishima was trying to think of how to approach whatever the matter was when Kaminari beat him to it.

"Maybe you should get the support course to make you a steel pair," he teased, picking up a splinter of ruined wood and poking it into Bakugo's cheek. "What's got you _this_ intense, man?"

Bakugo brushed him off and stood, his food mostly untouched on his tray, and stomped out of the cafeteria.

Kirishima and Kaminari exchanged a look, and Kirishima found his eyes drifting back to Uraraka and Naegi. He was laughing at something she said, and her eyes were bright, and Kirishima had a sudden, vivid memory of that moment in the classroom days ago, when Mineta had been trying to show them pictures of Uraraka in her underwear and Bakugo had broken his phone.

He remembered the oddly soft look in Bakugo's eyes as Uraraka walked into the room, and he remembered the challenge with which she met his growl.

He remembered the way Uraraka had kicked his and Mina's butts during the exam. He remembered the way she'd fought Bakugo tooth and nail at the Sports Festival.

" _Where do you see fragile?"_

And he remembered Uraraka walking out of Ground Beta, Bakugo passed out on her back. He'd had bones poking out where his elbow should have been and his blood ran down the front of Uraraka's uniform as she moved, quick and careful, to tell All Might what had happened. Her eyes—they'd been bright with admiration and dark with worry as she'd described the way Bakugo had put out the fire they'd been tasked with.

The memories crashed together in Kirishima's mind, forming this budding, beautiful _something_ that he was afraid to put into words.

Uraraka smiled at Naegi. Bakugo's back disappeared down the corridor.

"Oh," Kirishima breathed, realization slapping him in the face as if he'd been missing something all along. "Oh _crap._ "

"Huh?" Kaminari asked, oblivious.

He didn't want to put things into words, so he said, "We do _not_ ship Naegaraka."

"Why? You suddenly have a thing for Uraraka?"

Kirishima shot him a look. Kaminari didn't have the lowest grades in the class for nothing.

" _No_. It's not that. Just...trust me for a bit, yeah?"

"Okay…"

(Uraraka)

Uraraka sat on the floor in Gym Gamma, her back stuck to Kirishima's in multiple places by Mineta's Pop Offs. They'd been partnered for a three-way fight and sticking Kirishima to her back had done nothing but get him out of the way. Uraraka had been quick to make him weightless and use her Gunhead training to take out Mineta.

But they were still stuck together until the effects wore off.

The groups shifted and rotated throughout the lesson, but she and Kirishima had been told to sit out, along with Satou who had had his sugar crash and was snoring on the ground beside her feet.

Uraraka was watching Yaoyorozu vs. Sero vs. Tsuyu, but part of her wished she could see the fight on Kirishima's side—Mina vs. Tokoyami vs. Bakugo.

Because there was a lot to be learned from Bakugo, she told herself.

"Hey, Uraraka," Kirishima said after a while. He shifted, and Uraraka shifted with him. "Have you started that essay for Midnight yet?"

"I wouldn't even know where to start," she said. "I'd be blown to bits before I could ever ask Bakugo about his weaknesses."

But that wasn't true and she knew it.

 _"I always looked up to All Might the most. And he's out of commission now because of my stupid ass."_

For some reason, she wasn't ready to let anyone else in on...whatever weird friendship was blossoming between her and Bakugo. It all felt so fragile, like it would crumble the second someone else caught on.

"Yeah," Kirishima said, and she knew him well enough by now to know he was probably smiling in Mina's direction. "It all just seems too... _intimate_ you know? Too private. Like what if we were just random heroes in the line of duty? Why would we need to know everything about each other?"

Uraraka shrugged, her shoulders pulling Kirishima's up and down as she moved. "But your _team_ , whatever heroes and sidekicks you end up working at an agency with...you'll know them like that, right? I think this is to prepare us to know other heroes on that level. Surely you already know Fat Gum and Amajiki on a more personal level than say Hado and Ryukyu?"

"True. But it seems weird to have to ask, you know?"

Uraraka was quiet for a moment, thinking about how Bakugo had already opened up to her, even just a bit. "Maybe...maybe we're not really supposed to ask. I mean, just from working with Bakugo for the exam and then for the remedial lessons we've had so far, I've learned a lot about him."

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that he's a really creative fighter. He can come up with something to turn anything in his favor. And that even though he's all rough and tough on the outside he's not really so bad once you stop being afraid of him. It's like he's just waiting for people to come along who _aren't_ afraid, and those are the people that he's willing to be more himself with. And he's...he's actually pretty cool, which I'm sure you already know. He'll do anything to win or solve the problem at hand, and he's smart and strong, and even though he can be a cocky jerk you get the feeling that he's only looking down on you because he knows you can do better and—"

And she was rambling.

"What I _mean_ ," she said, drowning out Kirishima's soft laugh, "is that I've learned enough by working with him to have a decent idea of what to write. And I know he's not the type to spill that kind of information for an assignment so it would be silly to ask outright."

Her face was warm and she wasn't really sure why,

"But what if..." Kirishima began, the tone in his voice something she couldn't quite place. "What if we're supposed to be okay with asking and answering? What if the point of the whole thing is to not be afraid of just _talking_ to each other?"

—

And that was how Uraraka ended up outside Bakugo's door roughly two hours later.

It was surprisingly daunting, the smooth plane of metal that blocked off a space distinctly for Bakugo and no one else. It was daunting, even though she knew how to break it down if she really needed to. Even though some deep part of her was utterly unafraid of the boy who would give his all to defeat her, who'd tear her down to build her up and force her to have faith in herself.

She knocked once, hesitantly, and then twice more with increasing confidence.

"The fuck do you want?" The voice from behind the door was slightly muffled.

Uraraka, hand on the knob, said, "I'm coming in!" With Bakugo, it was better to ask forgiveness than permission.

She pushed through the door and stood in the threshold, taking in the room with quick, observant eyes.

It was simply decorated, with a plain black comforter over the bed and a desk and organized bookshelf in the corner. A small tv was on, resting on a low table with a single All Might figurine laying beside it, as if Bakugo couldn't decide whether he wanted it there or not. As if he was trying a little too hard not to care.

A circular rug, black with an orange border, took up most of the floor, and it was on this that Bakugo sat, wearing nothing but a pair of grey sweatpants. A first aid kit was open on the floor beside him, a jar of salve and bandages sprawled out across the rug. He was wrapping the bandages around one of him palms, and they were already stained faintly with blood.

There was a jagged scar in the crook of his elbow from the incident with the fire, but even that was not greatest among the angry lines that marred his torso.

"What do _you_ want?" he growled. But he didn't try to hide the blood that soaked through the bandages. He didn't bother to turn away or cover up his naked upper half. Because Bakugo...well Bakugo never hid from anything.

And Uraraka wouldn't hide from him.

She stepped into the room, allowing the door to swing shut behind her, and took a spot across from him on the floor. She knew better than to ask about his hands, and chose to look at the tv instead as she spoke.

"I was thinking we needed to work on that essay for Midnight."

He was watching a special on the League of Villains. Sketches of Dabi and Shigaraki blared on the screen as two people spoke about their abilities.

"Tch," said Bakugo. He hadn't kicked her out yet though, so that was a good sign. "And you're in my room because?"

Her eyes flicked back to him, all hard muscle and deep lines and angry eyes, but something else too. Some fear, perhaps, of letting her see too much, some desire to hide that was utterly foreign to him.

Uraraka glanced around the room again, and the whole thing seemed to be designed to reveal nothing, to keep everyone at arm's length. Slowly, she reached out to the All Might figurine and stood him up right.

"Midnight wanted us to interview each other, to talk about our strengths and weaknesses."

"I know what the assignment is, shitwit. Why are you here _now_?"

Uraraka chewed on her bottom lip and turned back to the tv.

" _Little is known about Shigaraki Tomura," the voiceover said. "Heroes have been able to determine that he grew up with a powerfully destructive Quirk and a desire to be strong enough to make something of himself. As a child, he was rude and standoffish. He had no friends to speak of, and spent the majority of his childhood pushing others away. His elementary school teachers expressed their concern, but weren't taken seriously until his father, Shimura, was found dead by disintegration…"_

Uraraka had seen this special on tv _months_ ago, after All Might stopped All for One. Bakugo must've recorded it, and she wondered just how many times he'd watched it since. Looking back at him, he seemed a bit off. His Rage Aura dampened into something more internal, as if some of his outward fury was now directed at himself.

" _Dabi is known to have been even worse as a child. Short tempered and arrogant, he burned anything he deemed weaker than himself. He had a small group of followers—I wouldn't call them friends—who essentially worshiped the ground he walked on. Little is known of him after he dropped out of high school other than that he spent most of his time committing serial murder until he joined the League of Villains sometime last spring…"_

Bakugo was growing increasingly violent with his bandages, hissing as he pulled too tightly and irritated the injury.

Her legs were crossed in front of her, and Uraraka wrapped her fingers around her ankles to keep from reaching out and offering to help him.

"How many times have you watched this?" she asked, her voice quiet and strong. There was every chance in the world that he wouldn't even bother to respond...but on the off chance he did, she knew she had to tread carefully. If he opened up to her even a bit, if she could help him in some small way like he'd helped her, she didn't want to ruin the opportunity.

He was silent long enough that Uraraka thought he might not respond at all, but she could have a little patience if it meant helping him work through some of the stuff he kept all bottled up. And, after another minute ticked by, he finally said, "Not enough."

"Why?"

He finished wrapping his hand and flexed his fingers a few times to test his handiwork. Satisfied, he rested his elbows on his knees and looked to the screen again, then to the All Might figure now standing proudly beside it.

" _As is often the case with this sort of villain," one of the commentators went on. "Analysts and psychiatrists spend most of their time asking what led these people to this way of life? Was it a series of choices and circumstances? Is evil something that is born and bred? It villainy an inherent trait in some people? And how does this 'Villain Gene,' if such a thing exists, relate to Quirks? Why is it that villains seem to primarily have Quirks that destroy, and how is one thing related to the other?"_

Bakugo stood and began shoving things back into the first aid kit, and Uraraka hopped up onto her feet and took a step closer to him.

"Is it 'not enough' because you haven't figured out the difference between the League and you?" she asked to his back, and his shoulders tensed just slightly. Uraraka swallowed, shutting down the fleeting thought that pricked her mind— _he has a very nice back._

"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

She followed him as he went to the connected bathroom to store the supplies, and when he turned from the cabinet, she was right in his face, floating to meet him eye-to-eye.

"Bakugo, listen," she said, wanting to take her time to choose her words but also wanting to say everything as fast as possible before he kicked her out. The words ended up spilling out of her, end over end in whatever order they came to mind. "If you were really like Shigaraki, or Dabi, or any other villain, you would've gone with them when they kidnapped you. If you _really_ wanted to be a villain, you wouldn't be _here_ right now."

He opened his mouth to protest, eyes averted and brow furrowed, but Uraraka spoke over him, her hands gripping either side of the bathroom door frame so there was nowhere for him to go.

"If you had a 'Villain Gene,' which is a load of crap to begin with, you wouldn't have done Midnight's silly trust exercises. You wouldn't put up with Kaminari teasing you or Kirishima insisting that he be your friend. You wouldn't be working so hard to get your provisional licence, and you wouldn't care so much that you didn't pass the first time. You wouldn't...you wouldn't care _so much_ about Deku getting strong enough to pose a challenge to you."

Confident that she had his attention, she lowered herself back to the ground, and when his eyes met hers, there was something vulnerable there she wasn't used to. It scared her a bit, knowing that she might be the only person that got to see this, that got to _help_. But she wouldn't shy away.

She balled her hand into a fist and pressed it into his chest, and the skin-to-skin contact sent a spark of electricity through her veins.

"Somewhere in here," she said, pounding her knuckles gently against him and willing her voice to be unrelenting. "Somewhere in here, you have a heart, Bakugo Katsuki. And I think you have a hard time seeing that. You want to be number one so _badly_ that I wonder if it's because you want to be like All Might, because being like All Might would prove to you that you're good."

He breathed out of his nose. It was a long, heavy sigh that told Uraraka she was right, but he was trying to come up with a way to refute her. She didn't break eye contact with him, and it occurred to her, briefly, that they'd be killing it on Midnight's test right now, but she wouldn't say anything. Bakugo had taken the time to pick her up and brush her off and renew her confidence after Nighteye, and she would do the same for him no matter how patient she needed to be.

"And," the words were still falling out of her, like somewhere in the back of her mind she'd been thinking about this for a while. "You _aren't_ like All Might...You're not the person with happy smiles and kind words and a hand to help people up. You're not. You...you're all bad temper and brutal strategy and uncensored outbursts and—"

"Shut up—"

" _And_ this desperate desire to be _good._ Even though you'll never be the same kind of good as All Might, you want to be a hero, and that's what matters. You don't want to be like Shigaraki, and so you won't be."

Bakugo had that look on his face again, like he wanted to say one thing but ended up saying another as he shoved his hands in his pockets and spat, "Get out of my room, Angelface."

 _Angelface._ He was raring for a fight then.

So she pressed her knuckles into him harder and grinned, a hint of defiance in her tone as she told him, "We're a _team_. And I've decided that I'd very much like to be your friend, whether you want me or not. You're good, in your own way, and your heart's in the right place." Uraraka paused, gesturing to the tv. "They said that villains have destructive Quirks. What they don't really say is that villains use those destructive Quirks to _destroy._ Your Quirk can be pretty destructive, but I've seen you use it to save, and that makes all the difference."

(Bakugo)

It rocked him.

Her face was set in sheer determination, like this was the most important thing she could be doing—talking his idiotic ass out of the rut he'd dug himself into. And she'd said almost the same thing as All Might.

 _And_ how she'd worked it all out, worked out so many of the things that ate at him, he couldn't know. Surely he wasn't as easy to read as she was. Surely this was some fluke, some moment of weakness on his part. And perhaps a bit of stubborness on hers. She was completely unwilling to take him at face value, completely unwilling to believe that anger and rage and violence made him up inside and out. She'd seen bits of him that scared him to think about, bits that he'd tried to push out of his conscious thought for fear of letting them take hold. Uraraka saw them and was unafraid, saw them and thought he was more than his failures.

Her eyes, like they always did, held both a challenge and a promise, and Bakugo's defenses began to crumble in the face of her.

" _Fine_ ," he growled out, urging all the animosity he could muster into the single syllable.

"What?"

He breathed out hard through his nose, a final chance to _not_ do this. A final chance to spare himself the the stupid _feelings_ and fucking nonsense he was getting himself into. A final chance to build back a barrier between himself and Uraraka.

And yet.

"I'll be your shitty friend...or whatever."

"Really?"

"I'm serious if you are, Angelface, so make up your damn mind."

Her smile lit up every corner of the room, as if it had blossomed from the very depths of her, a place where she stored up sunshine to battle the darkness.

"Don't be so happy about it. It's pissing me off."

She didn't buy it, and pressed her knuckles into his chest again, sending another heatwave radiating through him.

She was _so_ close, and he could smell that jasmine and lavender scent and feel her breath against his chest. His fingers twitched as he _almost_ reached out to touch her—her hand, her waist, her stupidly pink cheeks. But he was Bakugo Katsuki, and he had more self control than that.

"Now get the fuck out, Uraraka. I'm sure you can come up with something to write for the damn assignment." He knew _he_ could.

She smiled again, in that uncanny way she had of making him feel weightless without ever activating her Quirk.

"You bet I do!"

She turned then, nearly bouncing as she headed back toward the door. She reached it, and her hand was on the knob as she paused, turning back to him with a thoughtful half-smile on her lips.

"Hey, Bakugo?"

He could've ignored her, could've yelled at her, but instead, he raised his eyebrows, a silent urge to go on.

She smiled wider at this. "You have some faith in your damn self too, got it?"

A small wave and a final grin saw her out the door, and as he watched her go, Bakugo realized 'totally and utterly fucked' didn't even begin to cover it.

* * *

A/N: Again, thank you all so much for the lovely reviews and the follows and favs! This chapter was a bit shorter than normal, but it was very self contained and needed to just be this, so there you are. Please review!


	13. Chapter 13: (Can You Fill It?)

**A/N:** Sup fam! Much love to all who favorited, followed, and reviewed! You guys are the reason I'm here. Chapter title repeat intentional.

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen: (Can You Fill It?)**

(Uraraka)

Hollow.

Uraraka rolled the word through her mind, examining every facet of those six letters.

Hollow. An emptiness. A lack. An outer shell wrapped around an unfilled space like a discarded cocoon.

Hollow. It was how she felt with Naegi. And though she knew it wasn't the most genuine of relationships to begin with, she thought she should be feeling more than _this_.

She trailed a step behind him through the mall, half listening as he told her about his upcoming tour in America. It wasn't that it wasn't interesting, per se. It was just that she had other things to be more interested in, and one mind only had room for so much before it started dumping thoughts like garbage.

But he was _nice._ He'd come to eat lunch with her earlier that week, in what Uraraka believed was a genuine attempt to make her feel better after Nighteye. But for all of Naegi's inherent charm, his words had just, well, rang hollow.

" _Accidents happen all the time," he said, his hand resting atop hers on the table. "It's why you have to think long and hard about what you're going to do after you get your hero license. But it's not your fault, you know? With a mission that big, it was bound to happen to someone, you just happened to be there for it."_

"What about this one?"

His present words snapped her from her thoughts and she caught up to where he stood, pointing through a glass shop window. People throughout the mall stopped as the couple passed, heads turning and phones whipping out of their pockets. A few even had the nerve and approach and ask for autographs, which Naegi accepted with easy grace and Uraraka with red cheeks and surprised smiles.

"I told you," Uraraka said, eying the leather jacket in the same shade of pink as her hero uniform. "You don't need to buy me anything."

"And I told _you_ I want to dote on my girlfriend a bit."

A sigh from a pair of middle school girls not far away had Uraraka fighting to keep her eyes from rolling. In truth, she _hated_ malls. She'd never had the money to shop for pleasure, and had never seen the point in window shopping when her time was better spent training or helping at her parents' company. Her most recent mall experience had almost ended with Deku turning to dust in front of her eyes, and frankly she would have rather gone just about anywhere else.

But Hamuro had insisted.

"Why don't we pop in and try it on?" said Naegi, slipping his hand into hers and pulling her toward the shop entrance. "Maybe you'll love it."

He wasn't flaunting his wealth or being unreasonable, so Uraraka couldn't really deny him. He couldn't know how it made her skin crawl when people bought things for her, couldn't know that it made her feel like a failure and a burden. If she couldn't afford things, she couldn't have them. End of discussion.

But it would make Naegi happy, and that was what relationships were about, right? Sometimes you had to make sacrifices for the sake of the other person.

So she put on her best smile and followed him into the shop, pretending her heart didn't feel so hollow.

(Aizawa)

The window behind Principal Nezu's desk allowed in an ungodly amount of light, even when the sun was setting. He squinted toward his superior, considering pulling his scarf up over his eyes to block out some of that damn sunlight, and was glad for the third time that day that he'd requested a windowless office on the ground floor.

Across the desk, Nezu's face grew serious, and Aizawa lamented his plan to zone out and grunt his way through this conversation. It was just the two of them in the office, and if it really was a serious matter, he would be expected to _speak_.

Ugh.

"The matter I wish to discuss is...incredibly delicate," said Nezu. He grimaced and shuffled papers around on his desk, not at all his chipper self.

Aizawa acknowledged his statement with a nod.

"You've got students in remedial training tomorrow and Monday, correct?"

A second nod.

Nezu reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a map of the city and the surrounding mountains and forests.

"I'm going to mark a location on this map, and that is where I want you to take the students. Midnight mentioned you were planning on search and rescue? Have them do it here. An overnight trip."

This, for once, sparked Aizawa's interest. "You think that's a good idea? Surely you haven't forgotten what happened over the summer."

"What happened over the summer is precisely why I want you to do this. Once I reveal the location, _you_ will drive the bus. You will not tell anyone where you are going. If, when you get there, the League makes a move, we will be able to reasonably assume that the traitor we are searching for is among the twelve students in remedial lessons."

"Do you have a reason to think it's one of them?"

"Several of them were directly involved when the villains attacked over the summer—Kendo Itsuka, Uraraka Ochako, and of course, Bakugo Katsuki are all known to have had direct contact with the villains, and I hate to suspect students, but we can't keep this school running safely with a villain in our midst. It's in our best interest to take these kinds of opportunities to test possible suspects."

Aizawa thought it was highly unlikely that any of the three students mentioned were the traitor. He couldn't speak for Kendo, but Uraraka and Bakugo were both...he couldn't put his finger on it, exactly, but Aizawa liked to believe he had an eye for heroes and the two of them were well on their way.

And he'd hoped to set them on a search and rescue mission in Ground Beta and sleep while they completed it.

Nezu pointed to a spot on the map, a small forest nestled into the mountains, and said, "Choose the teacher you trust the most, All Might excluded, to accompany you. If the League _does_ show up, I want you to have some back up."

A third nod, even as he bemoaned the extra work that would (hopefully) prove fruitless.

"If nothing happens," Aizawa said as he stood, showing himself to the door. "I want you to take Bakugo off your list of suspects."

Nezu put the tips of his fingers together and looked at Aizawa over top of them in a perfect picture of diplomacy. "But Bakugo is—"

"Not evil." Though he usually wasn't one to _care_ , it annoyed him when people were blind to things that were right in front of their faces. "And treating him like he could be isn't solving any problems."

Nezu looked pensive at that, and Aizawa turned on his heel and left the office.

(Uraraka)

 **Group: Remedials [15 Unread]  
** [19:02] Sensei Eraserhead: Pack a bag. Meet outside the dorms at dawn. Wear your hero suits.  
[19:04] Kaminari: Dawn, Aizawa-sensei? Do you even exist at that hour?  
[19:04] Queen Mina: How big a bag are we talking? On a scale of 1 to Yaoyorozu?  
[19:05] Sensei Eraserhead: Something you can carry.  
[19:05] Queen Mina: I can carry anything with a little help, eh Uraraka? ;)  
[19:05] Kaminari: Knowing Mina, Uraraka would reach her weight limit with just one bag.  
[19:06] Queen Mina: Oy!  
[19:06] Unknown Number: On a more important note, where are we going?  
[19:06] Kendo: If he wanted you to know, he would've said already.  
[19:06] Unknown Number: Monoma has a point. How do we know what to pack if we don't know where we're going?  
[19:07] Sensei Eraserhead: Forget it. Bring nothing. Suffer. Just stop talking.  
[19:07] Kaminari: The light on his phone is probably too bright for him to look at. XD  
[19:07] Sensei Eraserhead: Nevermind. Pack as much as you want. Kaminari has just volunteered to carry everyone's bags.  
[19:07] Queen Mina: Yay!  
[19:08] Kaminari: So Uraraka...about that help… O_O

Their easy banter made Uraraka smile as she released her Quirk on the dozen or so shopping bags Naegi had sent her home with. His idea of "doting" was more insistent than Uraraka had planned on, and she got a little queasy thinking about how much money he'd spent.

She wished she could see the way he did—like it was a natural thing to do. But it all just made Uraraka feel _less than_ , even if Naegi didn't mean it that way. It made her feel like she owed him.

Most of the stuff he'd bought her wasn't even practical. Sundresses and perfume and jewelry had little place in hero training. She'd get the most use out of the pink leather jacket, but even that seemed too fancy to wear on a normal day.

She left everything in the bags on the floor of her dorm room and found her backpack. She dumped the books and notebooks on her bed and went to the closet, where she pondered _what_ exactly Aizawa would be having them do.

Uraraka settled for her go-to outfit: leggings, a t-shirt, shorts, a sweatshirt, and pair of worn out black Vans. That should definitely be enough, and if for whatever reason it wasn't, she knew she could borrow something from Mina.

She always carried an extra toothbrush and toothpaste with her, so those were already in the bag, but she added a hair brush and some dry shampoo and decided she was set. If this was a trip for remedial lessons, they'd have to be back on Monday anyway, and Uraraka _hated_ overpacking.

Perhaps it was just an aversion to _things_ in general.

 _Bzzt._

Her phone lit up from where it sat half-buried under the books she'd tossed haphazardly onto the bed. It was a separate a thread, and the shadow of a heart palpitation fluttered through her chest, more a memory than anything.

[19:13] Deku: Uraraka, would you mind joining me in to common area to help with the math homework? Iida's here trying to help and you know how that goes.

 _Bzzt_.

[19:13] Iida: Uraraka! I believe your assistance is required in the common area if you are available at this time! Midoriya is working on the math homework and I am afraid my attempts at aiding him have thus far proved futile. Your skillful explanations are always most helpful.

She sighed, looking again at the pile of bags on her floor, full of things she couldn't afford and didn't need. Things that, perhaps to some, meant love or affection or something other than excess and obligation.

Digging out her already completed math assignment from the pile, Uraraka decided she'd deal with all the new _things_ later. Putting them in her closet felt too much like commitment.

(Bakugo)

Bakugo was the only student awake as the bus pulled to a stop at the base of a mountain that rose up out of a dense forest. How the other remedial students could sleep with Present Mic talking Eraserhead's ear off, Bakugo didn't know, but if he had been in Eraserhead's shoes he would've used that scarf to strangle his excessively loud companion _hours_ ago.

As promised, the remedial students met outside the dorms as the the sun dragged itself lazily up over the horizon that morning. Some, like Bakugo, had gotten up even earlier than normal to get in their morning exercises. Others, like Kirishima, had used the opportunity to avoid exercising all together.

He caught himself wondering what Uraraka had done, though judging by her bright eyes and damp hair as she grabbed the pink alien's bag from her struggling friend, he imagined she hadn't wasted the opportunity either.

This, annoyingly, pleased him.

Regardless, she and the alien had fallen asleep on each other in the seat in front of him, and intermittent soft snores were the only sounds that came from them for the entirety of the ride. Kirishima, too, dozed off early in the trip, his head occasionally falling onto Bakugo's shoulder.

Bakugo pushed him off for the tenth or so time, shaking him roughly.

"Wake up, hair-for-brains," he growled. "I think we're here."

"WAAAKE UP EVERYBO—"

Present Mic started his deafening wake-up call, but Eraserhead immediately whipped his head around, bloodshot eyes wide and locked onto Mic. He then stood from his spot behind the wheel, yawning widely.

"We're here," he deadpanned. "Let's get this over with."

Without checking to see if the students were getting up (though if Mic hadn't gotten their attention with _that_ they were more likely dead than asleep), Eraserhead grabbed his yellow sleeping bag from the storage container under the driver's seat and trudged off the bus.

They assembled outside a few moments later, stretching and looking around. There was nothing but rock and trees—no buildings, no other people, no more road.

"You might be thinking this is something like summer camp," Eraserhead said, sounding bored as ever. "And you'd be right." Murmurs from the students were cut off by a dry-eyed look, and Eraserhead went on. "This is a search and rescue mission. Somewhere in that forest or on that mountain, we've hidden three practice dummies. Your job is to form teams of four and each locate one of those dummies. I don't care who finds which one, but when you have one, you bring it back here. You have until sunset tomorrow."

"We're camping?" asked the pink alien. "You didn't tell us to bring camping gear."

Eraserhead just shrugged and pulled his sleeping bag up around him before hopping back onto the bus.

"Ignore him," Present Mic said, his voice so loud in the quiet of the trees. "There are tents and sleeping bags in the back of the bus for anyone that wants them, AND I have something special for you from the support course."

He pulled a briefcase from behind his back and flipped it open, revealing twelve devices that looked like smart watches.

"This is how we plan to keep track of you, so we won't have another incident like last summer. When you put them on, you'll feel a slight prick. They recognize your blood type and monitor your heart rate. If you take them off, they stop working. They send a signal to a computer we have on the bus, so we can keep up with your location and your status throughout this mission. They also have a distress call feature, which you can ping if you need assistance. Taking off your tracker automatically sends up a distress call. Got it everybody?"

There were nods all around as everyone was beginning to shake off the sleep. The alien bounded over to where Bakugo stood next to Kirishima, half dragging Uraraka along behind her.

"Let's be a group, yeah?"

"Sure!" Kirishima and Uraraka said together, and Bakugo couldn't really complain. He'd take Kirishima over the shitty copycat kid any day.

"What do you guys think? Tents? No tents?" Alien went on. "I personally vote tents."

"It couldn't hurt," Uraraka said, her eyes reflecting the grey sky as she looked upward. "We don't want to have to sleep in the rain."

Kirishima retrieved a pair of tents and four sleeping bags from the back of the bus as Bakugo strapped the tracker around his wrist. There was a pinprick of pain as a hairthin needle shot into his vein and the face of the watch immediately lit up to display the time, his blood type, and current heart rate. There was a button along the side of the watch, where a dial might've been, that would activate the emergency distress call. Part of him thought he wouldn't use it even if he was in trouble, but another part of him reminded himself that being a stubborn jackass led to All Might losing his power.

"I'll push it if you won't," Uraraka murmured so Kirishima and Alien wouldn't hear. She had a small, knowing grin on her face as she strapped on her own tracker, and Bakugo tilted the face of his watch away from her so she couldn't see the sudden increase in his heart rate.

"I'd use it if I needed to," he growled back at her. "I'm not an idiot."

"Debatable," she quipped, scrunching her face up in what she might have thought was a good impression of him. "Staaaaay awaaaaay, Dekuuuuuu" she rasped, bringing her hands up like claws in front of her.

Bakugo flicked her in the forehead, and her smile was a fucking sunbeam.

(Kirishima)

Uraraka whispered something to Bakugo, and he flicked her in the forehead. She smiled at him, bright and lovely in that here-comes-the-sun way of hers, and Kirishima watched as the corners of Bakugo's mouth involuntarily tilted upward.

"Did he just…" Mina trailed off, a note of awe in her voice as she, too, witnessed the quiet moment.

"Yeah," Kirishima breathed.

"Whoa….Do you think...?"

"Yeah."

"And do you think she…?"

"I don't know."

"What do we do?"

"What?"

"Do we try to break her and Naegi up?"

Kirishima didn't answer immediately, because he wasn't sure about anything from Uraraka's side. He didn't want to hurt her for Bakugo's sake.

Even if her smile seemed to be a bit brighter around him these days.

"No," he answered finally. "We should let her figure out how she feels before we try anything."

"But we _could_ help her figure things out, don't you think? Give her a little push in the Bakugo direction?"

"Weren't _you_ the one that was all aboard the Naegaraka train?"

Mina gave him a knowing look that set his heart fluttering. "Uraraka's pretty easy to read, and she doesn't give out smiles like _that_ to just anyone, not even Naegi."

"We've got to be subtle about it, though," he said. "If either one suspects something, they'll get all defensive."

Mina nodded, waggling her eyebrows as she whispered, "Operation: Bakuraka is a go!"

Kirishima chuckled. "If you _ever_ say that in front of Bakugo, he will literally murder you."

"Not if it all works out he won't!"

"No...even then he probably would."

Mina just grinned and bounced off, catching up with Bakugo and Uraraka as they started into the forest, and leaving Kirishima hoping he wasn't as easy to read as either of them.

(Uraraka)

Bakugo headed immediately toward the base of the mountain without bothering to look behind him, and Uraraka figured if they couldn't keep up with him, they weren't worth his time in first place.

How very Bakugo.

She rolled her eyes and jogged up beside him, in turn assuming that Mina and Kirishima were following.

"If I had to guess," she started, keeping pace with him as he watched her from the corner of his eye. "Aizawa would've put two dummies in the forest in one in the mountains." Judging from what they'd seen so far, the forest had a much greater area, even taking into account the height of the mountain.

"Then we better get to it first. Send me up."

Uraraka did so, pressing the pads of her fingers into Bakugo's offered palm. He ascended quickly, per usual, and Uraraka followed, flicking the switch in her costume's wristbands to activate the directional enhancers the support class had finally finished installing in her suit. It would take getting used to, as the idea combined tiny rockets in her boots and wristbands that needed to be used in tandem to work at optimal capacity.

"Don't focus so much on making everything line up," Bakugo grunted as she came to a shaky stop in the air beside him. His red eyes scanned the mountain below, and he spoke without once glancing her way. "Focus on where you're going instead. It'll come easier."

Uraraka nodded. "I guess you know better than anyone, huh?"

But Bakugo didn't respond, and Uraraka turned to follow his line of sight.

"Wha—" she started, not even sure what to ask as she surveyed the great swath cut out of the forest. Like a massive boulder had dropped out of the sky and rolled through the trees, moving northward, away from them. A breeze tickled her face and stirred the ends of her hair and her breath pushed out of her in a single huff of confusion and concern.

"Should we tell Aizawa?" she asked at last.

Bakugo had already gone back to scanning the mountain, a steep cliff that teetered upward beyond their spot in the air above the trees.

"Whatever made that is gone now," he said. "We have a mission."

Rain began to fall then, fat drops that splashed her slowly—in her hair, on her arms, catching in her eyelashes and running down her fingers.

"Fucking great," Bakugo muttered. He extended a hand, one long, scarred finger indicating a small outcrop on the mountainside. "We'll head there first. Looks like there could be a cave. Faster we find this thing the faster we get out of the godsdamned rain."

He blasted himself back toward the ground, and Uraraka followed, studying the way he propelled himself with his palms. "Focus on where you're going, Ochako," she whispered to herself, clicking the switch to only activate the power in her wristbands. Her right arm was stronger than her left, and she found the latter more easily tilted off course, but she was able to get close enough to the ground to release her Quirk, and found Bakugo already telling Mina and Kirishima the plan.

"So we're flying?" Mina asked, looking nervous. "No offense, Uraraka, but the last time I experienced your Quirk I felt off balance for like a week!"

"And what's the point of teamwork if one person is pulling all the weight?" Kirishima said, scratching the back of his neck. "No pun intended."

Bakugo thunked him on the head. "Teamwork is knowing how to use other people's strengths to your advantage, shitty hair."

"More nicely put," said Uraraka, chuckling a bit because _of course_ Bakugo would say something like that. "It doesn't always have to be an even split. My Quirk might be the most useful in this situation, but next time it could be one of yours."

Mina and Kirishima exchanged a look that Uraraka couldn't read, but they both mirrored Bakugo as he held out his hand to her again.

"You'll have to ride with us, since you two have no way of steering, " Uraraka said, activating her Quirk on Mina and pulling her onto her back before moving on to do the same to Kirishima. "Too tight, Mina dear. Bakugo stop pushing him away—there."

She laughed a bit at the sight of Kirishima on Bakugo's back, clinging onto his neck for dear life, red hair sticking up over Bakugo's spiky blond. Bakugo, meanwhile, was grumbling and glaring at Uraraka with his Rage Aura up in full force, but she held his stare, shrugged, and extended her hand toward him.

"Choke me and I'll let you float into fucking space," he said to Kirishima, but he reached out and placed his fingertips against hers.

And then they were flying.

"EEEEEEEK!" Mina screamed as they rocketed upward, still shaky on Uraraka's part, but getting a bit better.

Bakugo, however, seemed to genuinely be trying to give Kirishima a heart attack as he blasted them up twice as high and fast as Uraraka.

"Oh gods, tell me this cave is close," Mina said, clearly trying not to squeeze _all_ the air out of Uraraka's lungs, but getting a good portion of it nonetheless.

They landed on the outcrop Bakugo had pointed out, rain soaking through their hero uniforms and plastering even Kirishima's hair to his forehead. There was a hazy fog hanging around the mountain that the rain wasn't washing away, and Uraraka nearly lost her footing as she released her Quirk, put Mina down, and took a step toward the small crack in the cliff face that Bakugo seemed to think would lead to a cave.

"It's too skinny," Mina said, running a hand through her drenched hair. "I could try to melt it with my acid, but in this rain it might wash away too fast."

"Fuck that," said Bakugo. Before anyone could think to stop him, he raised his hand and pulled the pin on one of his grenadiers.

And everything went straight to hell.

(Bakugo)

The mountain trembled as Bakugo blasted the cave entrance wider, and there was a horrible, echoing _CRACK_ as the rock above it shattered and began to fall.

"Oh shit," Kirishima breathed right before Uraraka grabbed him and flung him off the mountain.

She did the same to the Alien, activating her Quirk and throwing them with all her strength away from the landslide.

Great slabs of stone crumbling and crashing toward Bakugo, and he brought up his second grenadier, ready to pull a Sports Festival 2.0 and blast this shit into dust, but then there were hands on his shoulders and Uraraka used him as a launchpad to fling herself straight into the tumbling mass of rubble.

"Stay behind me," Uraraka growled.

She _growled_ at him.

 _She_ growled at _him._

But before he could really process this reversal of roles, she was activating her Quirk on herself in order to meet the rocks head on, hands splayed out in front of her. And Bakugo could only watch as she saved him.

Seconds later, a good chunk of the mountain hung in the air above them, and Uraraka was trembling and pale.

" _Now_ blast them, dummy," she said, voice hoarse and weak as she staggered to him and activated her Quirk to get him into the sky with the floating earth. He'd use his other grenadier from below them to minimize the chance of setting off another landslide and hopefully disintegrate the rock to a point where it wouldn't hurt them if it fell.. Kirishima and the Alien had made it back to the ground, and Bakugo could see them in the far distance, clinging to a tree to keep themselves down.

He lined it up, getting as much in the blast radius as possible before pulling the pin, but there was nothing of the satisfaction from the Sports Festival in the destruction this time, and as he looked back below him, Uraraka crumpled to the ground.

He fell, landing hard beside her, the rain making it difficult to keep his footing on the rock. There was blood mixing with the water and Bakugo saw a large gash across her hand, likely from the split second between her catching the stones and activating her Quirk on them.

"Shit," he muttered, flipping her into a sitting position and hooking his elbows under her arms to drag her into the dark cave he'd half-created and out of the rain.

He propped her up against the wall, inspecting her for other injuries with the light from his phone, but her hand seemed to be the worst of it. That and the utter exhaustion brought on by overusing her Quirk.

"Who're you calling dumb, Angelface?" Rhetorical, of course, as her head hung to the side and soft steady breaths were the only indication that she was even still alive.

"I didn't need you to fucking save me."

He yanked off his utility belt, digging through the pouches until he found a bottle of alcohol and a suture kit. The cut on her hand was way too deep to leave unattended, but not deep enough to warrant an emergency call for help.

 _Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt._

Bakugo found his phone in another pouch and punched the button to answer the video call from Kirishima.

"Dude!" Kirishima said. His stupid hair was stuck to his face and a had a long scratch across his forehead, but he seemed otherwise unharmed. "You okay? What happened? Where's Uraraka?"

"Fine! We're both fine. Don't worry about us. Just keep looking for the fucking rescue dummy."

"Are you joining us?"

"Whenever Uraraka wakes up," he said, shaking himself as he noticed the faintest hint of concern in his own voice. That wouldn't do. "The complete fucking moron overdid it with her Quirk and passed out on me."

"She saved us!" Alien said, grabbing the phone out of Kirishima's hand. "So don't you say things like that, Bakugo! And you better take good care of her until she wakes up!"

 _Click._

She hung up without another word, and Bakugo sighed and rolled his eyes.

At least it gave him an excuse to stay out of the rain.

(Uraraka)

She lurched awake to a searing pain in her left hand, like like it had been ripped open and lemon juice had been poured inside. Nausea roiled in her stomach and her head was pounding with a dull sort of ache. Someone gripped her shoulder hard, keeping her from jolting forward at the shock, and Uraraka blinked away the blur in her eyes to find familiar red ones right there in her face.

"Deep breaths, Uraraka," he said in lieu of any actual explanation as to why her hand felt like it was dying cell by cell.

Afraid to look at the source of the pain, Uraraka glanced around her surroundings. She and Bakugo were alone in a small cave, perhaps one that extended further back into the darkness, but it _was_ dark inside, made more so by the steady rain that fell outside the entrance. The air smelled like gunpowder, beyond the usual faint odor Bakugo always exuded, and he had a look on his face that would've been guilt if he'd been anyone other than Bakugo Katsuki.

She remembered then—he'd used a grenadier on the side of the mountain and caused a massive rockslide.

"Mina, Kirishima, are they—"

"Fine," said Bakugo. "You threw them off the mountain."

"Don't make it sound like a bad thing—you tried to blow them up! What were you thinking?"

His face changed then, eyebrows knitting together in well-practiced indignation. "I was _thinking_ about completing the mission—"

"And what do you suppose would've happened if we'd been looking for a real person?" Uraraka shot back, the pain setting her on edge and the sheer stupidity of what Bakugo had done lighting an angry flame inside her. "What if a real person had been inside this cave when you decided to blow out the entrance? Do you think anyone would've survived that?"

"I wouldn't have done it if we'd been looking for a _real_ person, shit-wit," he growled, but he looked away, not really able to hold her gaze her as he said it. He seemed to catch himself, and met her eyes again, but he'd already backed down in the face of her, and Uraraka wouldn't let him retake an inch.

"Stop trying so hard to prove yourself, dummy," she said, using her good hand to poke him in the chest. It was only then she realized just how close he was to her—she had to bend her arm at an awkward angle to get it between them, her crossed legs rested under Bakugo's squatting ones, and she could feel his warm breath on her face. When she inhaled, there was cinnamon in the air beneath the gunpowder.

He grit his teeth and looked away again, mumbling, "That's what heroes do."

It was Uraraka's turn to look away. He was just so _genuine_ , so single-minded in his end game goal that everything nonessential was shoved roughly aside. Aizawa hadn't said anything about returning their fake missing person in one piece, so Bakugo had decided that what mattered most was finding it as quickly as possible, especially knowing that his Quirk would become more and more at a disadvantage as the rain continued.

But that didn't excuse the fact that he could have seriously hurt all of them.

Finally gathering the courage, Uraraka looked down at her left hand, resting palm-up on Bakugo's knee. He had a small bottle of disinfecting alcohol in the hand that wasn't pressing her shoulder into the wall, and it seemed that he'd woken her up by pouring some of said substance into the gaping cut that slashed from the tip of her thumb to the far side of her wrist. Blood was flowing from the wound onto Bakugo's pants and down onto his boot, but he didn't seem to mind.

"I wasn't planning on you waking up," he said gruffly, releasing her shoulder and slipping his hand under her injured one. "It needs stitches. I was going to do it while you were out, but I can take you back to Aizawa if you want to have Recovery Girl take care of it instead."

It sounded a bit like a challenge, and Uraraka steeled her nerve. Bakugo might be reckless and desperate to prove himself, but there was something to be said for his unyielding drive to be the best.

"Just fix it," she said, dragging her gaze from the wound to his eyes, which widened slightly at her declaration. "Then we can finish the mission."

Bakugo didn't bother warning her about the pain, and instead just accepted that she could make her own decisions. He shifted, easing himself down to sit cross-legged in front of her, keeping her hand steady on his knee and using his other hand to flip open his suture kit.

He took her uninjured hand and rested it on his calf. "Squeeze the shit out of me if you need to," he said. "But keep still."

Uraraka nodded and Bakugo turned on the flashlight on his phone, resting on a nearby rock with a good angle as he threaded a curved needle. Long, scarred fingers worked deftly, with a practiced ease that captivated her a bit, even knowing what was about to happen.

He didn't give her a last chance to back out, just dipped the needle in alcohol and stabbed it through the skin at the middlemost point of the cut.

" _Shit_ ," Uraraka hissed, spots popping up in her vision as the pain in her hand amplified. It took all of her resolve not to flinch, knowing that doing so could make it even worse.

"That's my line."

He pushed the needle through the other side and tugged, the curved surface sliding out of her skin and allowing him to tie the first stitch.

"Ugh, _gods._ " Her voice was guttural and all regard for even trying to be proper was out the window. " _Fuck._ "

"Ready for another?"

"I don't think it matters."

He worked quickly and carefully, never once complaining about the bruise Uraraka was definitely leaving in his leg as she squeezed it with her good hand, gritting her teeth and trying to force her mind to another topic.

"Where'd you learn to do this?" she asked.

"Didn't want to waste any time in a hospital, so I figured it out."

"You've done this to _yourself_?" Uraraka thought back to some of the scars she'd seen criss-crossing his chest.

And without any hint of embarrassment or pride or anger or _anything_ other than that rare authenticity _,_ he lifted his eyes briefly to hers and simply said, "Yeah."

He was so focused on his goal that he would literally tear himself apart and piece himself back together.

"Wow."

It crossed Uraraka's mind, briefly, how very like Deku that was.

But of course, she wouldn't say anything about _that_ just now.

Uraraka bit down on her bottom lip and groaned as the needle pushed through her skin again.

"What the worst injury you've ever had?" she asked, hoping to get more than a single-word answer to take her mind off her hand.

He considered it in that painfully slow way he had that made her think he wasn't going to answer at all. Then, "When I was six." His voice came out a bit rough and he cleared his throat. "So about two years after my Quirk manifested. I was out in the neighborhood with some other kids and one of them said 'how big can you make your explosions?' I'd never really considered it or tried—my mom would've painted the walls with my blood if I so much as thought about using my Quirk in the house. So out there, with nothing else around, I fucking let _loose_. According to the doctors, I'm lucky to still have functioning fingers."

"Is that where all the scars on your hands came from?"

A wry half-smile. "Some of them, yeah. Some are more recent. I never did well with being told I had a limit."

If she hadn't been trying to squeeze the life out of Bakugo's leg, she might've reached up to her neck, where her timer would be hanging if she weren't wearing her hero suit. Pushing her own limits had been a personal goal of hers ever since she realized there were parameters to her power.

Uraraka studied his hands—large and strong and precise. Covered in her blood though they were, they were surprisingly nice, perhaps made more so even by the fact that he was doing this for her, that he hadn't left her there and moved on to find their target and complete the mission. (Of course, it was his fault in the first place that she was hurt, but she hadn't been _forced_ to save him from that landslide). She was surprised too at how gentle he was with her injury. Never in all her time knowing him had she seen him treat anything with such care.

And yet...he wasn't treating her as if she were fragile. He was treating her with a sense of admiration at the fact that she was taking the pain when she didn't have to. And it was nice to know that he prefered to do the mission with her rather than without her.

Bakugo finished, finally, tying off the last stitch with the same careful exactness as the first. He studied his handiwork, the slightest shadow of a pout on his lips as his eyes snagged on the stitch in the pad of her thumb.

"It'll still work," she said hoarsely. "My Quirk, I mean." She carefully peeled her good hand off his leg and showed him her index finger. A thin white scar ran from the tip, through the pad, and down to her palm. "I sliced it on a nail at a construction site a few years ago. Stitches then too, but no problems activating my Quirk."

Bakugo nodded, pulling some gauze from a pouch on his utility belt.

" _But_ ," Uraraka continued, brows knit together. "That doesn't excuse you from being a total idiot."

"What?"

"You heard me." She poked him in the chest again. "We're in this mess in the first place because of you."

"I already fucking told you—"

"You wouldn't have done it if we'd been looking for a real person, I know."

"Then what are you yelling about?"

"I'm not yelling," she said instead of answering the question. In truth, she wasn't really sure how to tell him that he didn't have anything to prove.

He gave her a look, resting the gauze in his lap and meeting her eyes in a silent challenge.

"You…" she started, then sighed in frustration. She didn't break his gaze, though. There was something in his eyes that gave her solace, some knowledge that he'd take whatever she threw at him and give it right back. Bakugo wouldn't sugar coat, and he wouldn't try to appease her. He'd tell her like it was, which made everything, ultimately, mean so much more. She owed it to him to do the same. "You're so...so _fucking heroic_ sometimes, and yet you still seem to think that you have to prove yourself—to you or to Aizawa or to All Might or to the League of Villains, I don't know. But...I just think you should know that you don't have to prove anything to me, okay? And I can't change what you need to prove to yourself, but don't...don't kill yourself to do it."

He blinked at her, some mix of emotion running across his face in an expression that Uraraka couldn't place.

"This," she held up her hand, stitches facing Bakugo. " _This_ sort of thing—fixing your mistakes—is heroic. The idea that you always have to be the fastest or the strongest is _not_. Means and ends are equally important, but you don't have to do things first to do them right or do them best."

He grunted in response and began wrapping the gauze around the stitches. There was more care in his motions than what he'd shown when she'd seen him wrap up his own hands.

"In case you haven't noticed," Uraraka said quietly, thinking that even though she was doing all the speaking, for once her words were clear. She wasn't babbling like she often did. " _I_ don't like limits either. But you shouldn't hate yourself for having them."

"A limit is just a weakness."

" _No_. A limit is something to pass in order to make yourself stronger. Even All Might had limits."

He didn't say anything to that, just continued to wrap her hand, and Uraraka felt the need to say more, not to fill the silence, but to make him understand that he was a person who deserved faith and respect and everything else that heroes received.

"You come across super confident all the time, Bakugo, but I wonder if that's just to hide the lack of faith you have in yourself. You just need to...give yourself some credit, some _genuine_ credit, because you're one of the most amazing fighters I've ever seen, and yet sometimes I think you're scared of not being good enough, which is ridiculous."

"Stop acting like you know me, Angelface."

He'd finished with her hand, but continued to sit in front of her, the glow from his phone casting blue light across his face and giving his eyes that same purple tint they'd had on the roof of the dorms.

Uraraka stared back, and some part of her asked _why bother?_ but another, larger part knew that deep down, Bakugo was worth the extra work. Even through he might be crude and mean and insufferable at times, he was more of a hero than most of the rest of them put together. Recognizing that, truly seeing it, made her heart stumble a bit, and it ended up lodged somewhere in her throat.

"I wouldn't have to _act_ like I know you if you'd just talk to me," she said softly. The fight hadn't gone out of her, but she knew when to cut her losses and change tactics.

Bakugo snorted. "What good would _that_ do?"

"I don't know," she said, shrugging. "But talking to you has helped me, and I'd like to return the favor."

He faltered, so slightly Uraraka might've missed it if they hadn't been sitting so close. Instead of replying, however, he stood, wiping her blood off his hands onto an extra bit of gauze. He seemed to be over it and done with the conversation entirely.

But he reached out a hand to help her up.

And Uraraka allowed him to haul her to her feet by her good hand.

He pulled a bit too hard, and Uraraka's face almost collided with his chest from the momentum, but she stopped herself, meeting his eyes as their breath mingled in the damp, dark cave. Rain still fell outside the entrance, a steady pattering that reminded Uraraka of quiet, lazy mornings at home, but now those memories mixed with a familiar scent of cinnamon and gunpowder, blurring together into something simultaneously unrecognizable and thrilling—something that, in spite of all the obvious differences, felt a bit like home.

He was looking at her like, maybe (maybe maybe) he was having a similar thought.

But Uraraka wasn't ready to come to terms with exactly what _that_ might mean, and found herself a bit relieved when a faint crackling of static sounded from deeper within the cave.

Bakugo breathed out hard through his nose, which Uraraka was coming to recognize as something he did when he knew she was right but didn't want to admit it.

Instead of continuing their conversation, he said, "You heard that?"

"Yeah."

"We're checking it out."

"Naturally."

She, as the closer of the two, turned to the narrow passage that led deeper into the cave. It was just wide enough for them to squeeze through if they turned sideways.

"It's dark inside, I can't see an end to the tunnel."

Bakugo shouldered in front of her and began easing himself into the thin passage.

Uraraka rolled her eyes. "I could've gone first."

Bakugo, never one to waste words, turned back to her and held up three fingers.

"I have better reflexes than you should something attack us." He put a finger down. "You're injured and I don't really want to have to sew you up again." He put down the second finger. "And I need you to be ready to catch this godsdamned mountain if it decides to fall on us." He used the final finger to flick her forehead. "Now stop complaining and follow me."

He wasn't saying it to put her down or belittle her. He was merely giving an accurate, verifiable assessment of their strengths. He was quick and she was strong. He would defend and she'd do the heavy lifting.

"Yeah yeah, I've got your back."

"I'm counting on it, Angelface."

"When did you decide to stick exclusively with 'Angelface'?"

"I haven't decided anything, U-ra-ra-ka," he said, enunciating each syllable solely to piss her off. "But teammates and…' _friends'_ deserve fitting names."

Uraraka felt her face heat up at that and was suddenly quite glad that Bakugo had turned off his flashlight.

"Anyway," he said. "Stick close."

He grabbed her good hand, pulling her along after him as he started through the small opening at the back of the cave, and Uraraka felt a surge of... _something_ pulse through her at the contact. Not anything that she was willing to give a name to, because that could spawn a whole new set of problems, but even in spite of this, Uraraka smiled a bit.

Because, even though she'd lost a lot of blood and their team had been split up and she and Bakugo were walking into total darkness, even though (or perhaps, because) she was being led into possible danger by Bakugo Katsuki, Uraraka knew that, given the chance, she wouldn't trade him for anyone else.

Because, with her hand in his as they marched forward into the unknown, Uraraka's heart, for the first time in a long time, felt _full._

* * *

 **A/N:** Sometimes I wonder if I'm too serious for my own good. OH WELL. I wanted there to be more Mina and Kirishima in this chapter, but it was getting really long and didn't quite fit. Maybe next time. Operation: Bakuraka is still a thing.

Anyways, please leave me a review! I am literally a review whore and I love them. You guys are the bomb.


	14. I Bet My Life

A/N: GUYS. There's art for this fic now! le-hibou-noir and liliium (both on tumblr) have drawn art inspired by this fic! You can find it on my tumblr (tharroswrites) or find me on AO3 (also Tharros) for links because this site is ASS for links.

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: I Bet My Life (On You)

(Uraraka)

Uraraka was dreadfully uncomfortable.

The thin spandex of her uniform did little to block the chill of the mountain cave and her hair, still wet from the rain, dripped down her back like icy fingers trying to get her attention.

The thin crevice she and Bakugo squeezed themselves through was cast in almost total darkness. Over her shoulder, down the long tunnel, she could see a tiny pinprick of grey light that indicated the makeshift cave entrance Bakugo had blown out in the act of great stupidity that brought them to this moment—chasing the sound of crackling static deep into the heart of the mountain. Moving further from that singular light source was like trying to defy gravity without using her Quirk, but Bakugo pulled her forward, his hand tightening around hers and his thumb pressing into her palm in their pre-discussed signal to keep going.

A single squeeze meant stop, two meant turn and run, and letting go entirely meant get ready for a fight. Bakugo hadn't been pleased when Uraraka suggested they have a signal to run, and the two had stopped to argue in a brief series of hissed whispers until a break in the static ahead shut them up like a lid snapping closed. A hard look that Uraraka wasn't even sure he could see won her the argument, and the two continued along with Bakugo's free hand feeling out the wall in front of them as they slowly made their way together.

Uraraka's free hand throbbed, though not as badly as she might've thought considering the sheer number of stitches Bakugo had laced through her palm. She chalked it up to adrenaline and was glad for it, but kept her hand cradled at her stomach so it wouldn't accidentally brush the rough wall.

Bakugo's bulk took up the whole space ahead of her, blocking any light that might be coming from deeper within the cave, but the static was growing louder. Uraraka couldn't be sure, but she thought she _might_ hear words amid the cracking.

They came to a bend in the tunnel, and a single squeeze from Bakugo's hand stopped her where she was. He listened around the corner, and as he leaned toward the sound, a brief, flickering light splashed against the wall. It danced, ephemeral and bright, through the spiky strands of Bakugo's hair, making them glow with a sort of inexplicable softness that was all at once perfect and utterly wrong—like a demon trying on a halo and finding that it fit him nicely.

" _Crime rates continue to rise since All Might's retirement. Coming up, we'll speak to analyst Minami Isoruko about why this trend isn't slowing down…"_

Uraraka swallowed. The voice, drenched in static and clearly coming through over some kind of radio, shattered the strange, limbo-like atmosphere she and Bakugo had been moving through. Before, there was only the linear option of moving forward. Now that something was definitely there, they were faced with the choice of turning around or checking it out.

She knew what Bakugo's choice would be, so she squeezed his hand and pressed her thumb into his palm. _Keep going._

They'd come this far. No point in turning back.

(Bakugo)

The majority of his focus was dedicated strictly to getting them through the tunnel as quietly as possible and listening for any potential danger ahead.

But a small piece of his mind was in a constant state of _shit shit shit shit_.

Because he was stupid and infatuated and a total _idiot_ and he was holding hands with Uraraka. And it was _so lame_ but his heart was beating a little too fast and it all felt kind of electric and it was a conscious effort not to sweat all over her.

And _gods_ he might've felt pathetic if it were someone other than her.

As it stood, Uraraka had stopped a landslide and hardly flinched as he stitched her up and still she wanted to push forward even though she had to be exhausted and in pain and probably still pretty pissed at him for causing all this in the first place.

He cut the thoughts short as a voice over a radio echoed down the passage again. _Why_ was there a radio down here? And who—or what—was listening to it?

He inched around the corner, Uraraka right behind him, and they came to the end of the tunnel.

There was a large formation of stalagmites rising up from the floor at the exit, blocking their view but also keeping them hidden from whatever was within. They crept toward the jagged rocks, clearing the tunnel and suddenly finding themselves in a high-ceilinged cavern, static bouncing off the walls and making everything sound a bit hollow. Uraraka shivered in the stale, open air and Bakugo hoped he warmed up fast if a fight broke out with whatever was waiting for them on the other side of the stalagmites.

Then, voices that were definitely _not_ coming from the radio.

"You think Tomura is right? Risking _us_ for this guy?"

Bakugo's eyes widened. There was a flickering light source—some kind of fire probably—spilling over the tops of the stalagmites, though he'd have to climb one of them to actually see into the room.

But he knew that voice.

Uraraka tensed beside him, and he glanced at her to see her mouth pressed into a hard line. Cold challenge glinted in her eyes and Bakugo knew she recognized the voice too.

 _Toga_ , she mouthed, and Bakugo nodded once.

"Suppose it depends on whether or not he can control this...thing."

And Dabi.

The League of Villains was in the mountains.

(Toga)

She sat on the floor of the large cave, the only source of light the small blue flame burning erratically in Dabi's hand, casting reaper-like shadows on the walls in all directions.

Gigantomakia slept on the ground in front of her, curled up like a child around a practice dummy he'd procured from somewhere before she and Dabi had shown up to check on him.

After Kurogiri had been captured and possibly revealed Gigantomakia's location to Gran Torino and some of the other heroes, they'd moved him here, and his unpredictable nature had led to Tomura sedating him for long stretches of time.

Pulling her knees up to her chest, she studied the rugged figure, wondering, briefly, if she could use her Quirk to become someone so much larger than her.

 _Bzzt. Bzzt._

"Tomura!" She grinned as she answered the video call, her boss hidden as usual behind a disembodied hand. "Giganto here's fine. Can we come home now?"

"No. There's been a development." The signal wasn't great inside the cave, and some of his words came out robotic and shaky, but Toga understood anyway.

"What development?" Dabi asked, coming to stand behind her seated form.

"Our source says Eraserhead and a group of U.A. students—including Bakugo Katsuki—left the grounds early this morning on a bus headed northward. Wasn't sure where they were heading, but Twice thinks he spotted the bus taking an exit that would lead close to the mountain. I'll ping the location to you. Check it out."

"Are you sending back-up?" Toga asked. She and Dabi couldn't take on Eraserhead and an unknown number of students alone.

"I said check it out, not fight."

"No promises," Dabi said, already heading toward the fake boulder that rolled out of the way to create an opening large enough to let them out.

Toga hopped to her feet, winking at Tomura before hanging up and stuffing her phone into her pocket, scrambling after Dabi and into the cold, hazy mountain air.

(Uraraka)

At the mention of his name, Bakugo ripped his hand out of hers— _get ready to fight—_ but she grabbed it again before he could get an explosion off and squeezed hard, just once. _Stop_.

He did stop, the lines on his face deepening in frustration.

Toga and Dabi left the cave, and the light source went with them, but the radio still played and Uraraka was torn between checking it out and returning to the bus to warn Aizawa about the League as fast as possible.

"'Giganto,'" Uraraka breathed. "What does that mean?"

"Hell if I know," Bakugo whispered back, his breath hot against her face. "Send me up and I'll check it out."

"Quietly, please," she said as she pressed the pads of her fingers into his palm.

He gave her a look that said something along the lines of "fuck off" before rising slowly, using a stalagmite as an anchor and peering over the top of it. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and turned on the flashlight and Uraraka's breath caught in her throat as she watched his face.

Whatever was listening to the radio grunted at the light and Bakugo turned it off and eased himself back to the ground.

"We need to get out of here," he said as Uraraka released her Quirk on him. She opened her mouth to ask what he'd seen, but he cut her off, pushing her back toward the tunnel. "Later."

They hurried back the way they'd come, and it was easier with that pinprick of light to follow. As soon as they cleared the cave, Bakugo grabbed her hand in a silent command that didn't require any pre-planning, and she activated her Quirk on both of them as ran straight off the edge of the cliff.

Bakugo was faster, and he slung her onto his back and blasted them toward the bus. Present Mic must've seen them coming from inside, and he ran out to meet them, dragging Aizawa by the sleeping bag behind him. The rain, at least, had let up.

Uraraka released her Quirk as they landed, unhooking her legs and arms from around Bakugo and doubling over, hands on her knees as she took deep breaths and tried not to be sick. She'd already pushed herself way past her limit and was facing the consequences as the adrenaline faded.

"What's wrong?" Mic and Aizawa asked in unison.

"The League of Villains is here," Bakugo said without preface. "In the mountain. Toga and Dabi at least. And some sort of giant."

The teachers exchanged a look that said a lot more than they were letting on.

A crash and an indiscernible shout echoed back the way Uraraka and Bakugo had come from, and they spun around.

A pillar of smoke rose from near the base of the mountain.

And Bakugo hissed, "Shit."

"You two stay here," Aizawa ordered as he and Present Mic started running toward the source of the smoke. When they were almost out of sight, their homeroom teacher turned, staring them down. "You have permission to fight _if_ you're attacked. If you follow us, there will be serious consequences."

Bakugo grit his teeth but didn't argue, and Uraraka could feel the tension radiating off him. It was eerily silent for a long moment and she closed her eyes, willing away the nausea that clung to the back of her throat like an itch she couldn't scratch.

"Godsdamn it," Bakugo growled, running a hand through his hair and beginning to pace. "He expects us to just sit on our asses when those League _fucks_ are probably after me."

She couldn't imagine what was going through his mind, not after everything that had happened the first time he'd been taken by the League, how much it had messed him up—she felt he'd barely nicked the surface of it with what he'd told her.

But that wasn't even the worst thing, this time.

"Maybe we should focus on the part where Shigaraki talked about a 'source' that knew we were leaving campus," Uraraka said, her voice barely more than a whisper because she didn't want to think about what the could mean. Bakugo stopped his pacing and turned to her, a hard look in his eyes that said he didn't quite believe it, either. Even though he only ever showed annoyance for most of the class, he didn't want to think the worst of any one of them, no more than she did.

"I _thought_ I smelled someone like me in that cave."

Uraraka and Bakugo whirled around, her eyes going wide because Toga was sauntering up to them from the woods.

"Hiya, Ochako, hun," she grinned, a knife flashing in her hand.

Uraraka wouldn't the same mistake as last time, when she'd been slow to act and Tsuyu had gotten hurt protecting her. So she pivoted slightly, putting herself just a fraction in front of Bakugo. He'd hate her for it, but she couldn't _not_.

And just in time too, because Toga started running at them like she didn't have a fear in the world.

Uraraka was ready, and she ducked under the brandished knife and slammed her elbow into Toga's armpit, causing her arm to flail and release her grip on the weapon. Toga staggered back a step, grinning in that cracked and hungry way of hers.

"Your scent's kinda different, Ochako, hun," said Toga, manic smile giving way to a disappointed pout as she pulled another knife from her belt. "It's not as….desperate as mine anymore."

Toga licked her lips, glancing between Uraraka and Bakugo in a way that made Uraraka's stomach turn.

"Is it because of Naegi? Or is someone _else_ —"

Before Toga could even finish the sentence, Uraraka's fist slammed into the side of her face, her other hand grabbing Toga's wrist and keeping the knife at bay. Uraraka spun, her back to Toga's chest, and flipped her over her shoulder.

Toga grunted as she slammed into the ground, and Uraraka took the moment of distraction to glance at Bakugo and she almost staggered.

He was standing on guard, watching the trees for a sign of Dabi or the League, and he had his back completely to Uraraka and Toga.

Just... _trusting_ Uraraka to handle the situation.

It was one thing for him to talk about her being strong. This was a whole other level. Which, she supposed, was very _Bakugo_.

A second wind hit her like a bullet train and she jumped off Toga as the siphon needle came flying toward her thigh—she wouldn't repeat _anything_ that had happened at camp that night. Toga twisted as she stood, arm cocking up as she prepared to throw a knife at Bakugo's exposed back.

Toga was fast, but Uraraka was faster and she lunged at Toga, grabbing the back of her facemask and yanking hard. In the same motion, she brought her other hand up and curled it around the blade of the knife, activating her Quirk on it as she ripped it from Toga's grip and threw it upward.

Blood dripped from the gashes it left in the fingers of her good hand and landed on Toga's forehead, and the villain shuddered in Uraraka's grasp, writhing against her hold on the facemask and twisting away.

"That smells like a _nasty_ cut, Ochako, hun. Shall I kiss it and make it better?"

Uraraka cringed, both hands throbbing, and she decided not to look at the one Bakugo had stitched up, fearing she'd torn it open again trying to keep hold of Toga.

Bakugo glanced over his shoulder then, eyes going straight to her hands with an exasperated look that might've been funny under different circumstances and Uraraka gave him a sheepish smile.

She looked back to Toga, who was standing between her and Bakugo and pulling a third knife from her belt.

And then a wall of blue flame burst from the trees behind Bakugo.

With reaction time that was a testament to his insane training regimen, Bakugo dashed, snagging Uraraka around the waist and blasting them out of the fire's radius. He spun them in the air, so they crashed to the ground on their backs instead of on their faces, and then jumped to his feet in a fighting stance.

Uraraka followed suit, eyes searching the thinning smoke left in the wake of Dabi's fire.

Toga, who must've thrown herself to the ground to avoid the flames, was pushing herself to her feet with one hand, the other cradling a knife dripping with fresh blood.

"Interesting," the blonde mused, sucking the blood from the knife as Dabi appeared beside her. "Do you see the way he jumped for her? Maybe Tomura _is_ on to something."

Uraraka glanced at Bakugo, eyes widening as she noticed the tear in his shirt, right above his hip. Blood from leaking from a jagged gash in his side, but he wasn't bothering to stanch it.

"Got me as I grabbed you," Bakugo grunted, flexing his fingers as he watched the two villains.

Uraraka grit her teeth and dropped into a defensive stance, frowning as Toga licked every last drop of Bakugo's blood from the knife.

"I have a hunch as to her Quirk," Uraraka whispered. "I think she can turn into people when she drinks their blood, but I don't know if she gets their Quirks when she does it."

"I'll take Scarface then," Bakugo said back. He rolled his neck and Uraraka could feel the fighting energy radiating off of him. "You've got more experience fighting me than I do."

And then he lowered his head and rushed at Dabi, explosions crackling in his palms.

Uraraka didn't waste any time running at Toga, and the villains jumped apart at the joint attack.

"Dabi," Toga whined, dancing around the kick Uraraka aimed at her knees. "Let's _go_. We've got everything we came for. I even got more of sweet Ochako."

But Dabi wasn't listening, and the grin he was giving Bakugo made it clear he planned to stay for a fight.

"Ugh," said Toga, lunging toward Uraraka. " _Boys_ , huh?"

"What do you want with our blood?" Uraraka shot back, dodging and spinning on one heel to land a kick on Toga's hip. The blonde staggered to the side and Uraraka advanced, using her arm to deflect the knife Toga slashed toward her and landing another punch on Toga's collar bone.

" _Oof_ ," Toga grunted, bringing the hilt of the knife into Uraraka's temple in a blow that made her see stars. "Isn't it obvious, hun? I wanna _smell_ like you."

Dabi went flying by them, then, crashing into a tree on the edge of the clearing. There was a singed hole in the front of his shirt where Bakugo must've landed an explosion point blank. He staggered to his feet and Uraraka used a sweeping kick to take Toga's legs out from under her while the other girl was distracted.

But then, in a move that Uraraka wasn't expecting, Dabi ran at Toga, grabbing the front of her shirt and bring the com on his wrist up to his mouth.

" _Janus, now!_ " he yelled.

Uraraka lunged for them, but they disappeared before she reached them, melting into the foggy air like they'd been nothing but an illusion.

But she heard them above her, and looked up to see them materialize briefly in the air, only to vanish again and reappear higher and farther away—a teleportation Quirk that worked without touch, but only moved them short distances at a time. No match for Kurogiri, thankfully, but still utterly irritating as she watched them fade into the sky.

"Uraraka!" she turned then to see Bakugo running straight at her full-tilt. "Infinity Pitch!"

Like an instinct, she understood without thought, but as he ran at her, time seemed to slow. She'd launch him after the villains, but he couldn't fight them in the air forever, and he certainly couldn't go with them by himself. That might even be something that the League wanted. An added bonus to whatever it was they'd gained in getting Bakugo's blood.

So, she yanked the tracker off her wrist and held in her right hand, extending that arm out to Bakugo. He reached her and gripped her forearm, and she activated her Quirk on him and spun, using his momentum to make a tight circle before throwing him after Toga and Dabi with all her strength. As her bloody fingers slid over his palm, she pressed the tracker into his hand and a wicked smile lit up his face.

He flew through the air, moving faster than the villains' erratic teleporting, and collided with them in a fiery explosion that created enough smoke to block her vision of them. Uraraka ran, biting her lip and trying to catch up with them from the ground, hoping to at least be there in case Bakugo needed a crash pad.

(Bakugo)

Uraraka was a gods damned genius.

They both knew it would be _idiotic_ for Bakugo to chase the League of Villains back to their hideout, and his original plan had been to knock them out of the air, but putting a trace on them was decidedly better.

So as he crashed into them, he set off a massive explosion in the air, smoke pouring out of his palm and shrouding them in a disorienting haze.

"Any day now, Janus!" Toga yelled, kicking at Bakugo.

She missed, and he flipped himself upside down in the air, grabbing Dabi's ankle and activating his Quirk to cause enough pain that Dabi wouldn't notice the prick of the tracker as Bakugo latched it around his leg. They teleported then, and Bakugo felt a disconcerting yank in his stomach as he was pulled through dimensions with them. The sky bent around him, wobbling like a dream, and he shook himself when they stopped farther away from the mountain that he'd been seconds before.

Something about the teleportation canceled Uraraka's Quirk, and his weight returned like someone dropped an anchor onto him.

Dabi grunted and slashed his hand through the air, sending blue flames at Bakugo's stomach, but Bakugo popped his Quirk between himself and the villains, launching himself away from them and out of the fire. They teleported again then, farther this time, and Bakugo didn't bother watching them go as he searched the ground for Uraraka. He used his Quirk to hold himself up, but his arms were starting to twinge with the effort, his Quirk close to overload.

He let his body drop a bit before catching himself again, explosions coming out a bit weaker.

But a streak of pink below caught his eye and he would've cursed the relief that shuddered through him, but he was waning.

She was way too far below him to hear if he shouted, so he waited until she saw him and stopped running.

And he dropped straight toward her.

(Uraraka)

She'd watched from the ground as Bakugo was teleported forward with Dabi and Toga, and felt her Quirk release of its own accord.

Swallowing hard, she picked up her pace, channeling her inner Iida as she raced after them. There was no way Bakugo could fall from that height without solo-Deadfall level damage to his arms. Or worse.

A flash of blue flame and a small explosion broke them apart, and then the villains were gone and Bakugo was still hanging in the air.

Uraraka released a shaky breath, glad he hadn't been dumb enough to actually try to go with them, and slid to a stop far beneath him.

And then he was diving toward her.

"Oh gods, Bakugo," she grumbled, jumping into the air and gliding up to meet him. "You just can't do anything the easy way, can you."

Well, she could play that game too.

She couldn't negate the kind of momentum he was building with her slower speed, but when they crashed together above the treeline, she activated her Quirk on him and scooped him into her arms bridal style. They fell much more slowly toward the ground, and Bakugo met her eyes with a glare for the _ages_.

"The. Fuck. Are. You. Doing."

Uraraka grinned at him, getting a sort of wild pleasure from the way the tips of his ears were turning red.

"If you're going to fall out the sky at me, I reserve the right to catch you however I see fit."

He pushed off of her with his palm to her face. "Fucking weirdo."

She pulled his hand away, laughing from post-fight exhilaration, and he hooked an arm around her back and popped a small explosion downward to slow their fall further, making it more of a downward float.

"Hell of a trust fall though," Bakugo said, the hint of a satisfied smirk on his lips. "Wonder what Midnight would have to say about _that._ "

This, for some reason, caused Uraraka's face to heat up. Maybe because he'd literally fallen out of the sky and into her arms as easily as he'd tilted backward into them in Midnight's lesson.

She swallowed. "Maybe that you're out of your whole entire mind?"

He grinned outright at that, and Uraraka's breath caught in her throat. He was so high off the adrenaline that he was smiling _happily_. And well...it was just about the most crafted-by-the-gods thing Uraraka had ever seen.

"That's what bat-shit-fucking-crazy implies. Besides, you caught me, didn't you?"

"I can still drop you, you know." Her voice came out a little breathless.

"You won't."

"You're bleeding," she said, tearing her eyes from his smile because looking at it any longer was _definitely_ asking for trouble. Droplets slipped from the cut in his side, hanging in the air like bubbles in their wake.

"Me?" he said, smile turning downward. "Have you looked at your fucking hands?"

Surprised, she glanced down and nausea rose in the back of her throat at the bloody ruined mess of her skin. The gauze had unraveled and the stitches Bakugo had so meticulously placed had been ripped back open, leaving dark threads sticking out around the deep, and now dirty, gash across her left palm. Her right hand was in slightly better shape, since Toga's knife had gotten the inside of her fingers instead of the meatier part of her hand. Those cuts weren't so deep, but blood still smeared all over her forearms.

"Ah shit," Bakugo said, his rough fingers hooking under her chin and tilting her face back up. "Adrenaline is probably keeping the pain at bay, so don't dwell on it too much. The League's gone so we should be getting out of here soon."

They landed and Bakugo's arm disappeared from around her back. Uraraka tried not to feel disappointed by the absence.

He pulled the roll of gauze from his utility belt and gripped her wrists, holding her hands out between them. His frown deepened.

Uraraka grit her teeth. "Do whatever you need to. I'll live."

Bakugo met her eyes, briefly, and then pulled out the bottle of disinfecting alcohol.

"Fucking morons," he muttered, some piece of a conversation taking place in his head, and Uraraka bit her lip.

"What?" she asked, closing her eyes and biting down a scream as Bakugo poured the disinfectant over the worse of the two cuts.

"Hmm?" he grunted like he wasn't half-torturing her.

"Gah—" she groaned, tears leaking from the corners of her shut eyes. He really needed to talk more, distract her. "Morons, you said... _ack_."

"Oh," he said. His tone was that of talking about the weather, and Uraraka made a mental note to punch him in that stupid perfect smile after she got her hands fixed. "Buzzbrain, Soy Sauce Face."

" _Bakugo_."

"They gave me shit after the Sports Festival. Talked about how frail and fragile you were. I was just thinking, again, that they're total idiots."

"Oh," Uraraka breathed, then gave a pained yelp that she wasn't proud of when he used the remaining disinfectant on her other hand.

Bakugo, thankfully, ignored it, and began wrapping gauze around her hands again, foregoing stitches since the mission was more than likely off. Uraraka let out a shaky breath as he finished and rocked back on her heels, plopping ungracefully to the ground as the havoc she'd wreaked on her body hit her full force.

Bakugo sat down across from her, his elbows on his knees as he massaged his forearms.

 _Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt._

Bakugo pulled his phone from his pocket with an annoyed look on his face and answered a video call, which was mostly just Mina, Kirishima, and Kaminari screaming at him. Uraraka couldn't see them, but she could imagine them fighting over the camera.

"Where are you?"

"What happened?"

"Are you okay? Where's Uraraka?"

"Your tracker was sending a distress call from the mountains, but when we got back there it was crushed in the landslide—"

"And Uraraka's isn't showing up in the forest at all—"

"Did you run into the League? Dabi was here and then—"

"He just teleported away!"

"Yeah, it's like he's got some sort of dual Quirk or—"

"WHERE. IS. URARAKA."

Bakugo turned his phone around and Uraraka waved as the three of them fought over the phone on their end.

"Thank gods! Are you okay?"

"What happened to your hands!?"

"Where are you guys? The rest of us are back by the bus."

"Aizawa's worried sick about the two of you, even though he won't admit it."

"Should we send him to come find you?"

Bakugo flipped the phone back and frowned at them, but there was something a little soft in it. "We're fine. And not far. Don't waste his time."

"Yeah," Uraraka assured them, standing shakily to her feet. "We're on our way back now. We ran into Toga and Dabi. Oh! Bakugo, did you do the thing?"

"Duh."

She snatched the phone from Bakugo's hand (she could only assume he let her take it) and said, "Guys! Tell Aizawa to look at the trackers! We got one on Dabi and Toga before they got away!"

Mina's mouth hung open a bit a Kaminari gave a low whistle.

Kirishima, though, just grinned. "You guys are so...so _Plus Ultra_! It's freaking awesome!"

"Thanks," Uraraka said, blushing and grinning back.

Bakugo took the phone and hung up, beginning to make his way back toward the camp.

Uraraka started after him, a bit unsteady on her feet and Bakugo slowed his pace so she could catch up. He didn't say anything, just continued to walk beside her, holding out his arm for her to lean on.

"Th-thanks," she mumbled, putting some of her weight on him as the exhaustion started sinking into her bones.

"Just don't fucking puke on me."

Uraraka chuckled weakly, too tired to be sick.

They walked a few moments in silence, the chilly fog that hung in the air in place of the rain casting the world in a dreary grey.

"Hey, Bakugo?"

He grunted in response.

"You're getting a lot better at the whole 'teamwork' thing."

He looked at her from the corner of his eye, the red and gold there bright against the stormy monochrome. "Well you're not a shitty teammate."

Uraraka laughed again, a warmth spreading from her chest. "Trust falls, compliments...why can't Midnight be here to see this? We'd never have to take another remedial lesson."

She was joking, but part of her heart stumbled at the thought of these lessons ending. At the thought of no longer being a team.

"Tch," he said, but the corner of his mouth turned upward.

They arrived back at the bus to a furious series of worried questions, but Aizawa gave them a quick once-over to determine that their injuries didn't require emergency medical care and Mic ushered everyone back onto the bus, telling them all to leave it until they got back to campus.

Mina slid into the seat next to Kirishima, so Uraraka took the one next to Bakugo, but it didn't really matter who she was sitting next to. As soon as the bus started up, she found her eyes fluttering shut, eyelids heavy. And in spite of the throbbing pain in her hands, and the twinging ache in her head, and the strange warmth she'd felt since she'd seen Bakugo smile, Uraraka rested her temple against Bakugo's shoulder and drifted off into a blessedly dreamless sleep.

* * *

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	15. Enough

**A/N:** All the reviews/favorites/follows are my life force! Thank you all so much for the love!

* * *

 **Chapter Fifteen: Enough**

(Kirishima)

"Kirishima...Kirishima, wake _up_."

He did, groggily and with a headache that spoke to the rock Dabi had smashed into his unhardened skull earlier that day.

"Wha—?"

Mina was leaning in close to him, ducking down so the bus seat hid her from the other students and taking up so much of his personal space that he froze.

" _Look_ ," she whispered, pointing behind them with a conspiratorial smirk on her face.

He rubbed his eyes and pushed himself upward, ignoring the way Mina leaned into his arm as he peeked over the back of the seat. What he saw there made him smile.

Bakugo's shoulder was pressed against the window, and he reclined with his arms crossed over his chest, eyes closed, and his head falling backward onto the seatback. Beside him, Uraraka claimed most of the space, sitting sideways with her knees pulled up to her chest and her back pressed against Bakugo's side. Her head rested on his shoulder behind her. She snored quietly, and Bakugo's steady, even breathing indicated, surprisingly, that he was asleep too. Uraraka had shucked off her helmet and the outer shell of her boots, and they sat on the seat across the aisle from the sleeping pair with Bakugou's face mask and grenadiers.

"I'm gonna take a picture," Mina whispered, pulling out her phone and making sure the flash was turned off.

"Don't even think about it, fuckmunches," Bakugo growled. His voice was thick, like he'd been on the verge of unconsciousness and dragged himself back out of it. He didn't open his eyes, didn't make any move to push Uraraka away, and even though Mina pulled a _whoops_ face, she continued to smile.

"They can't help it," Kaminari piped up from the row behind Bakugo and Uraraka, as stupidly fearless as always. "It's not their fault you're actually being _cute_ for once."

"Piss off, dead battery," Bakugo grumbled, still not moving.

"It's not even that they're being cute," Mina breathed, sliding down so the seat concealed her from Bakugo again. "I mean, it _is_ cute, but it's also so….easy for them. I'm kinda jealous."

A few minutes later, Mina's phone went off, and she read the text quickly, flipping it around for Kirishima to see.

[15:38] Kaminari: He's actually asleep now. I even poked him.

Mina quickly typed out " _You brave, beautiful son of a bitch_ " and sent it back to him before inching her phone over the top of the seat again and snapping a quick picture.

"Don't you think the effect is kind of lost since they both look like they've just come out of a meat grinder?" Kirishima asked, looking at the image over Mina's shoulder.

"No way! They've got this kind of _epic_ vibe going on. Those who kick ass together nap together!"

"Bakugo will _kill_ you if he ever finds out."

Mina grinned at him, sending the picture to his phone and Kaminari's. "Nah-uh. Not with you on my side."

And Kirishima was suddenly very, _very_ grateful to Bakugo for falling asleep.

(Uraraka)

Returning to campus was a blur. Bakugo had shaken her roughly awake and half-pushed her out of the seat ahead of him. They trudged behind Aizawa with the rest of the remedial students, and he brought them all straight to Recovery Girl. Uraraka, in the worst shape, was treated first, the sped-up healing dragging her back into sleep.

She woke much later. The storm had returned, lashing against the infirmary windows full-force.

"Welcome back."

Uraraka sat up slowly, every bit of her body aching with the effort. In the dim lighting, she glanced down at her hands—both wrapped in fresh gauze and feeling much better. Residual nausea stirred in her stomach, and Uraraka swallowed hard as she turned to the source of the voice.

Aizawa sat beside her bed, the bags under his eyes even deeper than usual.

Something pricked at the edge of her memory—something she needed to tell him—but her brain felt foggy and slow with exhaustion and she blinked at him, opening her mouth and closing it again.

"Here," he said, holding a glass of water. "Drink."

She did so, only realizing how parched she'd been when it was empty.

"Bakugo told me what you heard in the cave," said Aizawa, his usually neutral face rather grim. "You can't tell any of the other students. The fact that there is a possible leak within the school must remain a secret if we are to discover their identity. If word gets out that we know of their existence, they'll be more cautious."

Uraraka nodded numbly. "Do you….do you think it could be a student?"

Aizawa's mouth thinned to a line. "It's possible. In fact, Principal Nezu wishes to speak to you about that as soon as you feel up to it. He has some questions concerning...some of your classmates."

"Who?"

"It's not my place to say."

Uraraka gave him a hard look. "Aizawa-sensei, _please_. We had to fight the League today. I think I deserve to know why."

Aizawa sighed, and then, like he couldn't be bothered to deny her, he said, "Nezu suspects Bakugo."

"W-what?"

A strange sort of shockwave radiated through her body, an un-right feeling that caused her hands to tremble and her pusle to ache in her veins. Her chest felt tight, compressed, like her lungs couldn't pull in enough air.

"Nezu has had his suspicions since Bakugo was taken by the League. We've known there to be a traitor in our midst since the attack on the summer camp, and Bakugo seems to always be a key player when the League is involved."

"No." It was all she could get out. It couldn't be Bakugo.

An image of him flashed through her mind—sitting on the floor in his room, wrapping gauze around his bloody palms and watching the League documentary on tv. He'd tried so hard to hide how much he feared that he was anything like Shigaraki. The thought _rattled_ him, and she'd seen the light spark back to life in his eyes as she's tried to convince him otherwise. He wanted to badly to be nothing like the League. How could Nezu ever think that he would help them?

Aizawa sighed again, his elbows resting on his thighs and his head hanging between his shoulders for a moment before he raised bloodshot eyes to meets hers again.

"I know, Uraraka. And I've told Nezu all the reasons why it isn't Bakugo. But with no better suspect, he's not convinced."

"What—" Uraraka started, then paused to take a deep, shaky breath. "What do I have to do? What can I say?"

"The truth. Nezu is….highly logical by nature. Emotion doesn't play into his decision making unless it's forced on him. Just...speak from you heart. It's what I told Bakugo."

"Where he is? Bakugo?"

"In his room. Under house arrest for the moment."

Uraraka swallowed, that ache in her veins throbbing with her heartbeat. "Does he know?"

"No. Nezu only asked him what he thought of the situation. Told him he was putting all of you under house arrest."

"Is Principal Nezu still here?" Uraraka asked swinging her legs out from beneath the hospital blanket. The chilly air went straight through her thin hospital clothes and sent a shiver down her spine. "I'll go talk to him right now."

Aizawa nodded, standing and motioning to the bedside table. "I had Ashido bring you some clothes. I'll wait outside and take you to him."

When he was gone, Uraraka unfolded the neatly stacked outfit—U.A. track pants and a tank top...and Bakugo's hoodie.

 _"Tell anyone about that and I will fucking annihilate you."_

Maybe Mina hadn't realized that it clearly didn't belong to Uraraka. Maybe she missed the fact that it was two sizes too big and was burnt at the sleeves. Maybe she missed that it still smelled faintly of cinnamon and gunpowder.

A fleeting thought, a selfish fear. She and Bakugo both had bigger things to worry about than a gesture of kindness from Lord Explosion Murder.

Still, Uraraka tied it around her waist rather than putting it on. Nezu was smart. He could put two and two together and figure it out, and Uraraka didn't want any sort of... _other_ implications to get in the way of the honest truth she had to tell him: Bakugo would beat himself bloody before joining the League of villains. He would break himself to be a hero, and if that wasn't enough, she didn't know what was.

Her phone also sat on the bedside table, and Uraraka flipped it open on her way out the door.

 **Inbox [23 Unread]**

[17:15] Naegi: Hey princess, I saw something on the news tonight about some U.A. students getting attacked by the League? It didn't give any names and the chances of you being involved are so slim that I shouldn't worry, but I just wanted to check in and make sure you're okay.

[17:32] Mom: Your teacher just called to tell me what happened! I'm so glad you're okay. Please call me when you wake up! I love you!

[17: 43] Deku: Kaminari told us what happened! They won't let us in to see you, so we'll be waiting up in the common area in case you can come back tonight. Iida and I are both worried about you, so take care of yourself okay? They said Kacchan was the only one with you the whole time, but he went straight up to his room and won't even answer Kirishima's calls. Then Aizawa told us not to bother him but didn't give us any information.

[17:47] Hamuro: Hello lovie! I've got a photoshoot booked for you and N tomorrow after classes! I'll send a car for you! Mwah!

[17:58] Naegi: I know you're busy sweetheart, but give me some peace of mind please?

[18:31] Kirishima: IGNORE ANYTHING MINA SENDS YOU.

[18:31] Queen Mina: Don't ignore me Ochako!  
[18:31] Queen Mina: I know I was super excited about you and Naegi but  
[18:31] Queen Mina: :image: teamPLUSULTRA  
[18:31] Queen Mina: I'm just throwing it out there.  
[18:32] Queen Mina: and I know he's like 98% bad attitude  
[18:32] Queen Mina: but he's SMOKING HOT.  
[18:32] Queen Mina: like look at those arms.  
[18:32] Queen Mina: and have you seen him with his shirt off? /swoons/  
[18:32] Queen Mina: and also he let you sleep on him so  
[18:32] Queen Mina: not to mention the fact that you guys kick MAJOR ass together.

[18:33] Kirishima: *facepalms* I should've just taken her phone away. Sry.

[19:02] Queen Mina: OH MY GOD WHY IS BAKU'S HOODIE IN YOUR BEDROOM?  
[19:02] Queen Mina: it smells nice.  
[19:02] Queen Mina: BUT DON'T TELL HIM I SAID THAT  
[19:02] Queen Mina: actually don't tell him any of the things I've said.  
[19:02] Queen Mina: girl you have got some serious explaining to do.

[19:18] Naegi: Princess?

Feeling a little guilty, Uraraka typed out a quick " _Sorry, I was asleep. I'll call you tomorrow_ " and sent it to her mom and to Naegi as Aizawa led her through the building to Nezu's office. She bit her lip as she opened the picture from Mina and ignored all the commentary her friend offered.

She and Bakugo had taken on Toga and Dabi together. _After_ he'd exploded the side of a mountain and she'd saved him from a landslide. They'd been exhausted. Falling asleep on the bus didn't _mean_ anything. It wasn't _allowed_ to mean anything. Not when she had Naegi. Not when there was Deku to think about.

But just because there _couldn't_ be anything like _that_ between them didn't mean that she didn't trust him. And it didn't mean for one second that she thought he'd betray them.

Outside the door, Aizawa stopped, turning to her and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Whatever happens," he said solemnly. "Know that you're a good friend to him. Bakugo doesn't have many of those. He probably won't thank you for doing this."

Uraraka met his eye, clenching the fist that Bakugo had stitched up earlier that day. (Gods, had it really only been hours ago?) Smiling just slightly, she said, "He doesn't need to."

And then she pushed through the door.

(Bakugo)

Bakugo Katsuki wasn't stupid.

In fact, he prided himself on his intelligence just as much as he prided himself on his Quirk and his physical prowess.

So he could put it all together and the League's 'source' plus Nezu's questions plus taking away his phone plus house arrest all added together to one sickening truth.

Nezu thought Bakugo was a traitor. _The_ traitor. The source of all the League's information on the school.

That he'd wanted to be kidnapped by the League. That he'd _wanted_ All Might to take on All for One. That he wanted All Might to lose his power.

Which, in all honesty, made Nezu not that different from the League himself.

They both saw a destructive Quirk and a bad attitude as all that a person needed to be a villain. All that a person needed to _want_ to be a villain.

" _Somewhere in here, you have a heart, Bakugo Katsuki."_

Uraraka's voice, of all things, whispered in his mind, louder, somehow, than the League documentary that he'd been playing on repeat for the last three hours he'd been stuck in his room.

" _You want to be a hero, and that's what matters. You don't want to be like Shigaraki, and so you won't be."_

She was right (of fucking course she was), but the fact that the principal of his godsdamned school couldn't see what she saw left a sour feeling in his stomach.

It was the thing that most people seemed to expect of him—being evil, being a villain. Like it was in his blood. Like the documentary said, maybe destructive Quirks just came with a 'Villain Gene.' Maybe if everyone thought it, it was true.

" _If you really wanted to be a villain, you wouldn't be_ here _right now."_

Bakugo shook himself. It _wasn't_ true. He didn't have a villain gene. He didn't _want_ to be evil. He wanted to be here, to be a hero. To be the _best_ hero. It was what he'd always wanted and he knew that.

But that didn't stop the world from seeing him however they wanted to and it hurt more than he cared to admit.

An unpleasant taste in his mouth. An itch on his neck. A nightmare that ended in people crumbling beneath long thin fingers. Because of him.

And All Might—weak and withered and unable to be the Symbol that the world needed. That _Bakugo_ needed. And a doe-eyed kid with a mop of green hair set to take his place. A kid that had always been there, trying to save Bakugo when he didn't need saving.

Maybe Deku had seen the villain in him before anyone else. Maybe he'd tried to keep it at bay.

Bakugo, lying on the rug on his floor and staring up at the blank ceiling, pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes, trying to get the image of Deku running to his aid out his mind.

" _You looked like you were calling for help_."

And Uraraka, standing at the door to his room and looking at him over her shoulder, " _You have some faith in your damn self, too."_

Uraraka looking at him with that challenge in her eyes, that fire that sparked something inside him. Uraraka jumping in front of him to save him from his own damn landslide. " _Just fix it. Then we can finish the mission,"_ she'd said, holding out her shredded palm so he could sew it back together.

Uraraka fighting Toga in the woods. Uraraka giving him her tracker and throwing him into the air without a thought. Uraraka falling asleep on him on the bus. All of it done without hesitation, without worrying for one second that he was on the villain's side.

Uraraka sitting in Lunch Rush with the Pretty Fucker, smiling and laughing at some stupid thing he'd said.

" _Naegi said that he liked me and that he'd give my parents a job if I agreed to go out with him...I want to make enough money to support them and make life easier for them."_

"Fuck," Bakugo muttered, removing his hands from his eyes and staring at the ceiling again. He wanted to train, but what was the point? What if Nezu decided he was the traitor and expelled him? What if all of it was for nothing?

A small part of him thought maybe he deserved it, all of it—All Might retiring and choosing Deku as his successor, Uraraka choosing the Pretty Fucker, getting expelled from the one school that could get him what he wanted. Maybe he'd treated Deku too badly for too long and this was the only thing that could come of it.

Uraraka was probably awake by now. Nezu was probably questioning her, putting the thought in her head that he could be the traitor. And everything she'd thought of him would crumble in the face of that supposed truth.

It would be better for her, in the long run. She had a goal and she was meeting it with the Pretty Fucker. She didn't need his pathetic ass around, pining after her and hoping that she'd give up that dream for him. Who was he to ask that of her anyway?

Bakugo wasn't a quitter, and godsdammit he'd stay around as long as Nezu would allow it, but he felt walls coming up inside him—walls that had been gradually deteriorating since coming to U.A., since meeting people that were just as strong and smart and fast as he was.

Since Uraraka's stupid, blazing, beautiful eyes had met his with a challenge that rocked him hard enough to shatter the foundations of those walls. Since she slammed into them as relentlessly as waves on the sea and brought them down almost entirely.

She was better off without him. Deku and All Might were better off without him.

And Bakugo was better off with the walls up.

"Fuck."

He'd still be the number one hero. He'd still work harder and be better than Deku and Uraraka and everyone else. But he'd do it walls up, do it without making himself vulnerable to stupid, shitty emotions.

You didn't need heart to beat villains into dust.

But as he was resigning himself to this and dragging his worn-out body into bed, a knock sounded at his balcony door.

(Uraraka)

She'd meant to be nice. She'd meant to be kind and respectful and speak her mind in a reasonable manner.

But when she walked into the office and saw Nezu sipping tea behind his desk and watching footage from the Sports Festival—Bakugo's fight with _her_ , of course—something inside her snapped.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked, stomping into the office with Aizawa on her heels.

Nezu looked at her with a vague sort of interest. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't understand."

"You should be trying to figure out who the _real_ traitor is, instead of wasting your time worrying about _Bakugo_." Her voice, which had started out shaky, gained steadiness in her surety.

She stopped in front of the desk, hands on her hips and feet planted, glaring into Nezu's eyes with every inch of her willpower.

"Last time I checked," said Nezu, tone so neutral it made Uraraka want to punch him. "Bakugo Katsuki has caused you nothing but injury, pain, and extra work. Yet you defend him. Explain."

"If you'd just take a good look at him, I wouldn't have to," Uraraka said, the tightness in her chest diffusing slightly because she was _right_. "He wants to be the number one hero. More than _anything_ , that's what he wants. He doesn't want to be a villain. He doesn't want to take down All Might, or Endeavor, or anything. He wants to become the number one. He's intensely passionate about pursuing that goal, and he doesn't let other people get in the way of it, but that doesn't mean that he'd ever let the League win."

Nezu was watching her intently and she could feel Aizawa's eyes on her back and there were hot tears burning in her own eyes, but she couldn't stop. She _needed_ him to understand. She needed him to see that Bakugo was good, and that treating him as though he wasn't would only crush and bend and shatter him.

"Bakugo would break himself to be the best. He would destroy himself to be like All Might, even more than Deku would. And he's _trying so hard_ to be good and to do the right thing. Just because he's...rough, and intense, and angry doesn't mean that his heart isn't in the right place. And treating him like a villain is the worst thing you could do for him, can't you see that? He already gets enough crap because his Quirk is destructive. He doesn't need people questioning his motivation too."

Nezu was still watching her with that stupid neutral look on his face, and Uraraka dug her nails into the gauze around her hands.

"He's done _nothing_ to me but make me a better hero. His skill and his dedication are inspiring and he knows just how hard to push me so that I always come back stronger. U.A. is lucky to have him. Don't do something stupid and lose him."

"You are really so sure of his innocence?"

Uraraka bit her lip and ran her hands through her tangled hair—still matted with blood and dirt from their fight with Dabi and Toga. "If...if you think Bakugo is the traitor….then you should suspect me, too. If you're _not_ going to suspect it could be me, then don't suspect him either."

"That's a bold statement."

Nausea burned in her throat and her hands shook and her heart ached, but she forced herself to meet Nezu's eye again and said, "Anything Bakugo is guilty of, I'm guilty of too. That's how sure I am that it _isn't_ him."

"You place a lot of faith in this boy."

" _Have some faith in your damn self."_

And Uraraka didn't hesitate. "Yeah. I do."

"You are familiar with his volatile nature? With his history of abusing Midoriya Izuku?"

"I—I'm not _defending_ those things," Uraraka said, her heart tightening because she _couldn't_ defend those things. "Bakugo...he's got a lot stacked against him, I get it. And there's nothing I can say—that _he_ can say—to erase all the stuff he's done. But since he was kidnapped...he's _trying_ to make up for it. He's never going to be an All Might, or a Deku...but he _wants_ to be."

"Wanting to be something and actually being it are very different things."

"But sir, don't you think that the _wanting_ shows who a person is?"

Nezu gave her a dry look and seemed utterly convinced that he couldn't be wrong. Uraraka started to lose her nerve. What could she say to someone hell bent on not believing her?

Turning to Aizawa, she asked, "What exactly does it mean to be under house arrest?"

"You stay in your room," Aizawa said, giving her a searching look. "No classes, no phone, no contact with anyone."

Uraraka pulled her phone from her pocket and set it on Nezu's desk, regretting for a moment that she hadn't called her mother earlier.

"I guess I'll be in my room then. When you realize that Bakugo wants to be a hero more than anyone in our entire class, let me know."

As she turned to go, Nezu sighed.

"You'd really risk your education, your _career_ on his innocence?"

Behind her eyes, she saw Bakugo dropping out of the sky and into her arms. Saw him sitting across from her in Midnight's silly remedial lessons, staring into her eyes with his usual intensity tempered by sheer awkwardness. Saw him lying in a pool of his own blood after putting out that simulation fire.

Saw him stitching her hand and admitting that he'd done the same to himself. That pain was trivial in the face of heroism.

Uraraka turned back to Nezu, meeting his eye with all the challenge she could muster. "It's not a risk, sir."

"Aizawa said the same thing," Nezu said, sitting back in his chair. He sighed, long and defeatedly, and gave them each a hard look before he continued. "So fine. Bakugo is free. But next time something like this happens, if I find out Bakugo is involved it's on both of your heads."

Aizawa gave a curt nod and Uraraka pursed her lips. Nezu being outvoted wasn't the same as him believing Bakugo's innocence.

But small victories and little concessions could win wars, and Uraraka would take this one for the moment.

Nezu reached into his desk drawer and pulled out Bakugo's phone, sliding it and Uraraka's across the desk toward her.

"Give this back to him, please. And tell him nothing of what we've discussed. He doesn't know that we suspect him specifically and I'd like to keep it that way."

"You're underestimating him if you think he hasn't figured it out." Aizawa said in his usual monotone, and Uraraka felt a sudden warmth in her heart for their homeroom teacher.

"Perhaps," said Nezu. "But I'll never let anyone say that I'm not cautious."

Uraraka grabbed the two phones and didn't meet the principal's eye as she followed Aizawa out the door.

He walked her back to Heights Alliance, rain pounding against his umbrella as they trudged across the muddy grounds. Under the awning at the dormitory, he turned and put his hand on her shoulder once again.

"You said you wanted to save people," he deadpanned. "You're doing a good job already."

Uraraka felt her face heat up. "T-thank you, Aizawa-sensei!"

She had half a mind to walk around the other side of the building and float herself up to Bakugo's room, but seeing Deku, Iida, and Tsuyu sitting anxiously on the couches in the common area made her heart ache.

So even though she felt nearly dead on her feet, she pushed through the doors.

"Uraraka!" Iida exclaimed, at her side faster than she could blink and waving his arms around wildly. "Are you feeling better? All we were told is that you've been in the infirmary."

Deku and Tsuyu appeared behind him, the former fidgeting with his fingers and looking worried, the latter with a finger on her cheek and her usual stoic expression on her face.

Uraraka took a deep breath, forcing her concern for Bakugo from her mind and focusing on herself for a moment. Physically speaking, she was fine.

Mentally, emotionally, she wasn't so sure.

How was she supposed to face her classmates knowing that one of them could be betraying them? That one of them was the reason she'd been attacked that day?

"I...I'm okay," she said, allowing Tsuyu to link an arm through hers and guide her back to the couch. With another deep breath, she told them the story. Some of it, at least.

"You let Bakugo give you stitches?" Iida asked at the end, like that was the most important part. "He has no medical certification! We haven't gotten that far in our first aid classes! Was that wise?"

It wasn't really her place to tell them that Bakugo had given himself more stitches than she was willing to count.

"He did a good job," she said, glancing down at the gauze around her palm. "And if they let him carry a suture kit than he must've proved he knows what he's doing."

Iida couldn't argue with that.

"Besides," Tsuyu said neutrally. "Bakugo caused the landslide in the first place. It was his responsibility and he owned up to it. It's good that he's trying to fix his mistakes."

"Was it really necessary, though?" Deku asked, running a hand absentmindedly along the scars on his arm. "I—I mean, you could've gone back to Aizawa. He could've brought you to Recovery Girl and you wouldn't have had to be in so much pain."

Uraraka smiled a little sadly. "Says the guy who breaks his arms for in-class spars."

Deku blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. I suppose you're right. I guess I just assume that no one is as crazy as me."

Her heart skipped a beat.

She'd spent _so long_ trying to be like Deku, trying to be 'as crazy as him,' and it hurt a little that he hadn't noticed until now.

"We're all trying to be the best that we can be," Tsuyu said, breaking the mounting tension. "It can be difficult to separate training from real life. Personally, I admire _both_ of your dedication. And Bakugo's for that matter, if he's worked hard enough to give such adequate medical attention."

Iida nodded. "I agree. I think we could all take a page out of Bakugo's book, especially with such reckless classmates." He gave Uraraka and Deku a pointed look, and Uraraka couldn't help laughing a little.

"Are you sure you're okay, Uraraka?" Deku asked softly. "Fighting the League is... _big_. And I don't want you to think you have to pretend you're okay to spare our feelings."

" _That's what you do all the time,"_ she wanted to say, but didn't. Instead, she smiled. "I won't say I'm not...shaken by all of it. But not so much that I like, can't go on or anything. We got a tracker on Dabi, and if that goes through, that'll be _huge_. It'll be worth some stitches and bad memories."

Iida, sitting beside her, put a hand on her back. "You should get some rest. And if...if you ever find yourself in a dark place...or if you're angry or you need help coming to terms with things that happen to you...Just….don't forget that we're here for you. We want to help."

She turned and wrapped her arms around him, feeling him go rigid for a second before relaxing and returning the hug. Uraraka grabbed Tsuyu and pulled her into the hug too, pressing her cheek into Iida's chest and holding Tsuyu tightly against her side. Deku, sitting across from the three of them, gave Uraraka a small, soft smile, and she felt the corners of her mouth turn upward in spite of herself.

Surrounded by them, she closed her eyes and breathed.

And it helped more than she ever thought it would. She knew, at least, that the traitor wasn't any of them, knew it as surely as she knew it wasn't Bakugo. And the certainty felt _good._

"Come on, hun," Tsuyu said after a long moment. "I'll take you up to your room."

Uraraka allowed herself to be pulled to her feet and steered out of the common area. They started up the girls' staircase, and Tsuyu swallowed loudly.

"Do you know why we were told not to speak to Bakugo?" she asked softly, looking ahead instead of at Uraraka.

Ands she couldn't lie to Tsuyu, but she couldn't tell the truth either. "I...I'm not allowed to say, hun. But he's okay. He's not in trouble."

"That is good, ribbit. I worry about him more than I worry about you."

Uraraka laughed softly. "We just have to have his back...more than...than you and I did when he was kidnapped. We have to...have faith in him. If we do that, he'll be fine."

"You are a good partner for him, hun. Even though you failed the exam, I think it was for the best. Working with you is probably good for him."

Uraraka's cheeks heated, thinking of that picture Mina had taken of them sleeping on the bus. Maybe she _was_ good for Bakugo. Maybe...something about her helped him open up, even just a little.

"I don't...I don't really know what I _do_ ," Uraraka said without actually meaning to. Tsuyu had a way of dragging things out of her. "I don't know what to keep doing. Or what to—"

Tsuyu laughed dryly. "You sound like Midoriya, always overthinking things. You're not _doing_ anything, Ochako hun. You're just being yourself. That is enough."

They reached Uraraka's floor and she felt tears burning in her eyes at that statement. To think it could be as simple as that. To think that she, as she was, was enough.

It made her a little dizzy.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket and Uraraka pulled it out as she and Tsuyu made their way down the hall.

[20:51] Naegi: Glad to hear you're all right! Talk to you tomorrow, princess. We've got that photoshoot in the afternoon, so I'll see you then. You can wear one of those dresses from the mall. ;) Sleep well!

That made her dizzy for several other reasons.

Tsuyu, reading unabashedly over Uraraka's shoulder, put a finger to her cheek. "You do not like him."

"Huh?"

"Naegi. You do not feel anything for him."

"N-no, that's...I _do_. It's just...complicated."

Tsuyu clicked her tongue. "You can lie to me, if you want. But don't lie to yourself, hun. I know you have your reasons for being with him, but just...be sure that you're doing what is best for _you_."

"Naegi _is_ best for me." Or, for her parents. Same thing.

Right?

"If you say so, hun."

They reached Uraraka's door and she gave Tsuyu another hug. "Thank you, Tsuyu, dear."

"Of course, ribbit."

Once the door closed between them, Uraraka let out a long breath, twisting her hand absentmindedly in the sleeve of Bakugo's hoodie, still tied around her waist. She patted her cheeks and watched the rain outside her window for a moment, steeling her nerve for the weightier conversation she needed to have.

Double-checking to make sure Bakugo's phone was sealed in the zipped pocket of her track pants, Uraraka went to the balcony doors and slipped out into the storm. She activated her Quirk on herself and pulled herself along the building, up to the roof, and over to the boys' side. She hung at the top of the wall and blinked through the rain, picturing the room allocation in her head and determining which belonged to Bakugo before lowering herself down onto his balcony.

 _How cliche_ , she though idly, pushing wet hair out of her eyes and rapping her knuckles softly on the glass. Curtains pushed back and his red eyes met hers, opening slightly wider in surprise as the lock clicked and the balcony door opened.

"The _fuck_ are you doing?" he demanded, standing in the entrance with his arms crossed over his chest, blocking her from entering.

She rubbed the back of her neck, cold rain running beneath the hem of her tank top and raising goosebumps along her skin.

"Nezu sent me. Told me I could tell you that you're not under house arrest anymore. I've got your phone in my pocket so you should really let me in before it gets ruined."

"And let you drip water all over my stuff? I don't think so."

"Just bring me a towel or something."

Bakugo rolled his eyes. "Why didn't you just come through the inside door like a normal person?"

"Because that would've involved explaining things to my friends, and I kinda thought you wouldn't want anyone to know that you were stuck here."

"Tch," he grumbled, but took a few steps back to make room for her to enter. "Whatever."

And maybe, _maybe_ she really was enough.

(Bakugo)

Uraraka looked a mess, standing just inside his balcony door, dripping rain water all over the place. Her hair was soaked and matted and sticking to her face. There were bandages taped above her eyebrow and beneath one of the straps of her tank top ( _idiot_ , it was freezing. Did the damn girl never wear warm clothes? She had a hoodie around her waist—oh. It was _his_ ), and both of her hands were wrapped in fresh gauze. Blood still smeared across her skin in places, running because of the rain and mixing with the dirt and dust that clung to her from the explosions and the fire and the fight from earlier.

Bakugo had showered as soon as he'd reached his room, but he hadn't been able to get all of her blood out from beneath his fingernails.

He went to his bathroom and grabbed a clean towel, tossing it to her as he re-entered the room and crossing his arms as he waited for her to dry herself.

"What changed Nezu's mind?" he asked, trying not to watch too closely as she ran the towel over her arms and squeezed the water from her tank top. "He can think whatever the fuck he wants, but he seemed pretty set on it being me, even if he never said as much."

"Uh...me...I think. I changed his mind."

 _Great_.

"You?"

Uraraka's face went red and she moved the towel up to hide it. "I...um...I told him that you couldn't be the traitor...that if you were...than I was guilty too. Because it was just so... _stupid_."

He took an unintentional step closer to her, her elbows brushing his chest as she brought the towel up to her hair. She moved it around to the back of her head, eyes meeting his with her staggering sincerity.

Bakugou didn't need a defender. He didn't need a savior. He was going to be the number one hero for fucks sake.

But seeing Uraraka standing in front of him, eyes thundering with wild challenge and ready to take on the whole godsdamned world for _him_ , caused something inside him to crack.

And it shattered altogether when she threw her arms around him.

"You trying to get me sick, shit-wit?" he grumbled as water from her shirt and hair soaked into him. But his face was heating up and his voice didn't sound right at _all_.

She had her arms around his neck and her face buried in his shoulder, squeezing like she wanted to push all the air out of him.

And Bakugo was frozen, his arms bent slightly at the elbows from when instinct had told him to hug her back and his brain had promptly shut that thought down.

But Uraraka didn't seem to care. Her forehead was cold against the hot skin of his neck and her warm breath on his throat made his mouth go dry.

He was about to _try_ to tell her to piss off and push her away, but then he realized she was crying.

"It's so _stupid_ ," she growled into his collarbone. "It's stupid and unfair and just because you're grouchy and arrogant doesn't mean that you deserve to be treated like a...a _villain_."

"I'm getting used to it." His voice still sounded off—rough and gravelly and...a little broken. He cleared his throat, hoping she wouldn't notice even though her nose was pressed against his Adam's apple.

Uraraka pulled back a bit, pushing a finger into his chest and staring at him with those defiant eyes. Even with hot tears bubbling out of them and rolling tracks in the dirt on her face, they made his heart stumble. "You shouldn't _have_ to get used to it, dummy."

"It's my own damn fault," he said, looking anywhere but at her lips. They were _so close_. "Don't beat yourself up about it."

But Uraraka grabbed his chin, forcing him to face her head-on. "I'll beat myself up about whatever I want, thank you. And yeah, maybe you can be a jerk, but if people would just take the time to get a good look at you they'd see..."

Her fingers still held him in place, faces centimeters apart as she stood on her toes and pulled him down toward her, her other hand gripped the front of his shirt with all the force of her iron will. Their breath mixed in the air between them, and the scent of blood and rain and sweat rolled off her, a faint hint of jasmine singing somewhere beneath it all.

And her eyes—her _eyes_.

They were bright and dark and dancing. _Seeing_ him. Seeing everything.

Seeing all and fearing nothing.

"What would _they_ see?" he asked, fighting against his own body as it reached for her. His hands hung in the air near her waist, clenching and unclenching as he willed himself not to touch her.

Because if he did, she wouldn't just _see_. She'd _feel_. And that could only end badly.

She, however, didn't release her grip on his chin or his shirt as she bit her lip ( _holy fucking gods_ ) and searched for the words.

"You," she settled on a last, the corner of her mouth tilting up, pulling his eyes to it once again. "They'd see _you_ , Bakugo. And that would be enough."

"W-what?" he asked, hating the way his voice shook as his eyes flicked back to hers. But...she couldn't really think that. He'd lost them All Might's exam and dropped a mountain on her and been... _bad_ enough that the principal of his own damned school thought he might be a villain. He'd been weak enough to be taken by the League of Villains. He was still so weak that he woke in the night to dreams of her crumbling away.

So weak that it was an _effort_ not to tremble brilliantly beneath her touch.

So weak that her opinion in this moment might have been life or death.

So weak that the walls he'd been building back up were already crashing down around them.

"If...if they'd actually pay attention they'd see that you as you are are enough. You're _enough_ , Bakugo. Enough to be an amazing hero. Enough to be _good_."

She took her hand from his chin and wound it in his shirt, shaking him just slightly.

He'd always _known_ that—known that he was strong and smart and capable. He'd always wanted to be the number one hero because he knew he could be. But somehow, hearing someone other than his parents say it so plainly...it made it seem so much more attainable. Tangible. Like he could reach his hand out and grab it as easily as he could reach out and touch Uraraka standing in front of him—if only he had the guts to do it.

As if she were a part of all of it. As if she were wrapped up in his dream of becoming the number one hero as surely as her hands were wrapped up in the front of his t-shirt.

And godsdamn it all, if that wasn't terrifying he didn't know the meaning of fear.

"Please stop thinking that what you've done in the past….that your Quirk….that what other people think of you….defines what you can be." Her voice, unlike his own, was steady and warm and demanding. "I know you're trying to be better with Deku. And I don't understand everything between you two, but I can see you trying. You want to make it right. You want to be a hero. And I'll say it as many times as it takes to get it through your head—you don't want to be a villain, and so you won't be."

Without his permission, his hands were on her face, tangling in her hair, thumbs brushing away the angry tears that still fell slowly from her eyes. It wasn't enough, and he pulled her toward him, pressing his forehead into hers and squeezing his eyes shut as their lips hovered a breath apart. If either of them said another word, they would touch. It took all his self-control to keep from shaking with the effort of _not_ closing the distance.

It reminded him, briefly, of that fight they'd had when they were supposed to be practicing for the exam—he'd crushed his forehead into hers and called her pathetic; she'd pushed back, sent him to the ceiling, dislocated his shoulder. She was ferocious and unyielding as a mountain—one he couldn't bring down with all the nitroglycerin in the world. Then and in this moment. In everything she did she was a tempest.

And Bakugo thought _he_ might be the weaker one for getting swept up into it.

It was an ache in his bones, the need to be closer to her. A fire that begged for fuel. There was nothing of the storybook romance in it—it was a raging, lingering, hungry force that made him want to shove his hand inside his chest and explode his own heart to quell it.

Especially when she pulled back, a small, choked gasp escaping her throat.

"Bakugo, I—I _can't_ ," she whispered, and when he opened his eyes to meet hers, her expression was unreadable save for the pain in it.

It could've been pity or regret or something else entirely. Bakugo never claimed to be good with people.

He let go of her and took a step back, but she just stood there, her hands in front of her like they were still wrapped up in his shirt.

"I _can't_ ," she repeated quietly, fresh tears welling in her eyes. "There's Naegi...and, and I—"

"Don't cry about it, dumbass," he said, willing the hard edge back into his voice even as his throat felt raw and the words bit him on their way out. "You made a choice. Own it."

"It's not that simple."

Bakugo shrugged and shoved his traitorous hands in his pockets, slamming makeshift walls back up inside of him. He'd been an idiot to hope even for a second that she could stop thinking about other people for one godsdamned moment and want something for herself. "Seems pretty simple to me."

"Only because you're an unempathetic _jerk._ "

Seeing her standing there—still dripping rainwater and looking like she had half a mind to clock him in the face—was too much, so Bakugo turned his back to her and shrugged again. "We've all gotta live with our choices, round face. You said yourself that being a hero is learning to live with our regrets."

Did she regret pulling away from him?

He heard her breathe out hard through her nose, but the effect was ruined when it ended in a sniffle.

" _Fine._ " Her voice was a little thick. "You're right. You are. I made my choice. And I'm sticking to it. I h-have to."

"Fine," he growled back, still not looking at her. "I hope you learn to fucking live with it."

There was a soft thump and a loud splat and then the door opened and closed with a _snap_ that sounded way too much like an ending. A definitive one.

He turned slowly, and noticed first that she'd left his hoodie in a soggy pile on the floor. His phone she'd thrown on the bed.

And footprints in rainwater leading to the balcony were the only other sign she'd ever been there at all.

(Uraraka)

She puked as soon as she clambered onto the roof.

On her hands and knees in the most undignified position she could imagine, she vomited up bile and water onto the concrete as the nausea she'd been swallowing since waking up hit her like a kick to the stomach.

Bakugo had almost kissed her.

Bakugo had _wanted_ to kiss her.

And she had stopped him.

His scent still clung to her nose—his freshly washed hair, his shirt, his skin, his _hands_ : cinnamon and gunpowder and soap and _Bakugo._ That essense that laced through her dreams like a balm.

Hot tears leaked from her eyes, from the vomiting or the crushing weight inside her or both. A sinking feeling dragged down on her heart, like an anchor set for the bottom of the sea.

It was the choice she _had_ to make. For her goals, for her parents, for everything she'd been working for since coming to U.A. She _had_ to choose Naegi.

Even if Bakugo looked at her like she was a steady, towering mountain—unshakeable even in the face of _him_.

Rain crashed down around her and Uraraka shivered, dry heaving again as it all sunk in a little deeper.

"You _dummy_ , Bakugo," she groaned, pushing herself into a sitting position and burying her face in her hands.

 _Why_ did he have to go and ruin everything? Why couldn't he have…

 _Held back?_ the voice in her head supplied. _You know he doesn't do that._

She _did_ know that—Bakugo dealt in absolutes. He preferred black and white to grey, perhaps because he feared the grey inside him so much. Uraraka had always admired that straightforward way about him, even as she searched deeper into the things he tried to hide.

And he'd wanted to kiss her.

He'd looked at her with that blazing light in his eyes. Looked at her like she really _was_ enough. Like together, for each other, they could be enough.

And she'd pushed him away. Maybe for good. Bakugo wasn't keen on second chances and she'd outrighted denied him even though….even though she'd wanted it too.

 _"Do whatever the fuck you want, round face, but living you entire life for someone else isn't really living,"_ he'd told her after they'd failed All Might's exam. After she'd confessed to him why she'd let Naegi save her. Bakugo wanted her to want things for herself. To live for herself and to be a hero because _she_ wanted it. He wouldn't have respect for a decision centered around other people. He wouldn't respect her denying herself something that she wanted for something stale and weak for someone else.

She dug the heels of her palms into her eyes and groaned.

Her parents were _worth_ it. Helping them had always been her dream. It was _worth_ it.

But in spite of that mantra in her mind, Uraraka sat in the rain and cried.

* * *

Someone draw the almost kiss so I can cry about it some more. T_T *crawls away and hides under a table*


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: OMFG YOU GUYS. The ART. I just...holy hell you're amazing. I asked and you delivered and YOU ARE AMAZING.

intheafterall, liliium, heyimdownhere, dubsteph-art, youseimanami, mollys-bullshit-blog, and keke-shawn (kinda) ALL DREW AMAZING THINGS. Go check them out on tumblr! You can find them via their usernames above or on my tumblr (tharroswrites)

You guys have NO IDEA how much this inspires me and touches me and makes me want to melt every time I look at them. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH ILY.

* * *

Chapter Sixteen: If You're Gonna Be the Death of Me (That's How I Wanna Go)

(Uraraka)

Staring absently out the window of the expensive car, Uraraka ran her thumb along the fresh scar that slashed across her palm, jagged from where it had been stitched together and ripped open again.

"They can take that out in editing," Hamuro's assistant chirped in the seat beside her—all violet skin and shining teeth and big aquiline nose. "Yeesh, that's nasty looking."

Uraraka ignored her, blinking slowly as they sat in traffic.

It had been a... _weird_ day.

The remedial students had been told they could take the day off if they wanted to, following the villain attack, but Uraraka couldn't do it. She couldn't sit alone in her room and dwell on the fact that there was a traitor in their midst or that Bakugo had _almost_ kissed her.

But of course, he seemed to have had a similar thought, and when she'd slid into class with the bell, she'd seen him at his desk, staring at his hands on the table like they'd offended him. He hadn't glanced at her as she made her way to her seat, but everyone else she passed had given her worried looks.

She's been a mess and she knew it—eyes puffy and rimmed in red, nose running, cheeks splotchy. She was getting sick, surely because of the rain the night before, but it had still been clear that she'd cried harder than she had in a long, long time for most of the night.

Iida had turned to her as she sat down, concern evident on his face, but Aizawa called for their attention and the class rep reluctantly turned back to the front of the room.

Aizawa had spoken about the upcoming midterms, but Uraraka barely heard him, focusing most of her energy into _not_ looking at Bakugo. She'd caught Deku's worried gaze a few times as she glanced in that direction, but she gave him the best smile she could muster and looked quickly away.

The day went by with no interaction with Bakugo, but with plenty of reassurances to her friends that she was _fine._ They didn't buy it, but Uraraka couldn't even wrap her own head around everything, much less try (or even _want_ to try) to explain it to anyone else.

Besides, it wasn't like she could up and announce to the class that one of them was betraying everyone to the League, that one of them was the reason Bakugo had been taken in the first place. That one of them was the reason All Might had to fight All for One.

Uraraka shuddered in the backseat of the car, closing her eyes and breathing out through her nose. She'd spent the day trying not to look around the classroom, trying not to let her eyes linger on any of them because…

Well, because _what if._

What if it was Mineta? (Honestly, if she had to choose, she hoped it was). But he could be better, he _needed_ to be better. He could grow up and man up and become a hero, if he wanted, and Uraraka wanted that for him too. They were all young, they all made mistakes, and if he could only change his desperate attitude toward the girls, well...he might just be someone she could call a friend.

What if it was Aoyama? Sure he was a little strange and always somehow managed to see right through everyone even though he seemed to lack general social skills, but he was kind and bright and he was _trying_ just like the rest of them.

What if it was Kirishima or Kaminari or Sero—each of them with their big smiles and bigger hearts, who were yanking Bakugo out of his anti-social self like pulling teeth from a shark. They were good friends, willing to get burned if it meant helping, and Uraraka couldn't bring herself to see that as anything less than heroic.

Sweet Sato, sweeter Koda, considerate Ojiro, brave Shoji, wise Tokoyami, awkward but well-meaning Todoroki.

Or worse—Jiro or Hagakure or Yaomomo or Mina. Her support system, her sounding board, the ones who were there after every fight and every practice session, who loved her and supported her win or lose. They built her up and cleaned her wounds and kicked ass and she cared about them so much that it blew her mind that she'd known them for less than a year. But even such a short timespan was enough for her to trust them. She _couldn't_ be wrong in that.

To say nothing of Deku, Iida, and Tsuyu, but she'd already marked them so far off the list of possibilities that she only mourned the fact that she couldn't talk to them about it.

Uraraka dug the heels of her palms into her eyes, only to feel a gentle hand on her elbow.

"You shouldn't do that," Hamuro's assistant (whose name Uraraka failed to remember) said cheerily. "You'll get wrinkles."

"Right," Uraraka said tonelessly, bringing her hands down to twist her fingers in her lap. "Wouldn't want that."

 _Maybe the teachers are wrong_ , Uraraka thought for the hundredth time that day. _Maybe it's just coincidence. Or maybe the League is controlling someone without that person knowing it or—_

"Here!"

Even with the thought of traitors weighing heavily on her mind, Uraraka couldn't help the small twinge of nervousness as she stepped out of the car and looked up at the gleaming studio building. She pulled at the hem of the dress—a little pink number Naegi had bought for her—and ran a hand through her hair. Uraraka had never been one to concern herself with appearances, practicality was what she usually went for, but she suddenly felt very out of her element.

"Oh don't worry about that," Hamuro's assistant said, taking Uraraka's arm and dragging her toward the building. "There's a hair and makeup crew inside. They'll have you looking FAB-U-LOUS in no time! Besides, anything they can't fix today they can fix in editing. You'll have girls all across the world turning green with envy!"

Uraraka felt like she was turning green for other reasons. As a kid, she'd often stared at the glossy covers of magazines and wished she had the lives of the people smiling so brightly upon them. It seemed like some kind of joke now.

 _But you're happy, too!_ chimed the voice in her head. _And your parents have a good job and they're happy! What more could you want?_

Uraraka shook herself and patted her cheeks. She _did_ have so much to be thankful for. She should've known that bigger opportunities came with bigger problems.

Traitors and almost kisses were too big, too much, too important to wrap her head around in a single, tumultuous span of 24 hours. And they were certainly not the thoughts that should occupy the whole of her mind during a photoshoot with her boyfriend.

Uraraka swallowed hard and the bubbly assistant took it for nerves. She looped her arm further through Uraraka's and smiled as they entered the too-nice building.

"Don't worry, girl! All you have to do is sit there! The crew will take care of _everything_."

From there it was a blur of hairspray and powder and hands as Hamuro's team painted a masterpiece on the canvas of Uraraka's face. They kept her talking with a series of rapid-fire questions that shot at her like a pitching machine set to max and it was all Uraraka could do to spit out a couple of stumbling words before the next question hit her full in the face.

Finally, they finished, spinning her around to look in the mirror with a grand "TA-DA!"

Uraraka would never take the time (or have the skill) to recreate what they'd done, but even her stretched-in-all-directions brain took a moment to snap back together and admire their work—lightly curled hair that framed her face, smoothed out skin, gold eyeshadow that made her eyes pop, even the pinkness of her expressive cheeks had been toned down and evened out so she looked less like a clown and more like...well...someone who would be on a magazine cover.

That being said, it wasn't Uraraka Ochako looking back at her from the mirror. It was someone foreign and new. Someone Naegi Nobusuke would date.

Someone who didn't crawl around in caves or puke on roofs or almost kiss boys that weren't her boyfriend.

"Well?" asked the tall man with a sky blue beard who'd spent twenty minutes doing her eyes. "What do you think?"

Uraraka sneezed.

"Not quite the reaction we were hoping for…" said the petite girl with long, sleek dark hair, full lips, and a forked tongue.

"Sorry," Uraraka mumbled as the girl dabbed her nose lightly with a tissue.

"You should have said something sooner, lovie!" Hamuro announced as she entered the room. She was looking her professional best—pressed grey pantsuit that matched her eyes, with a blood red shirt beneath it the same color as her signature lipstick. Her blue-black hair, usually down, was pulled back in a ponytail and she carried a tablet in one hand and her phone in the other.

She pressed the phone to her ear, a slight pout on her lips as it rang.

"Okita?" she said when the person picked up. "Be a dear and fetch some cold medicine for Ochako, would you?"

"Oh! She doesn't need to do that—" Uraraka said as she climbed out of the chair and stretched her legs. "I'm fi—CHOO!"

The girl with the forked tongue giggled. "You don't want them catching _that_ on camera, do you?"

"No wonder your eyes were so red!" said the man, smoothing out her hair again. "Poor thing."

Uraraka sniffed and resisted the urge to wipe her nose on the back of her hand. She followed Hamuro from the room and into the elevator that would take them up to the studio.

"So…" Uraraka started, trying not to move or sweat or breath to much for fear of messing up the team's hard work on her face. "What exactly will you be using these pictures for?"

"Magazine spread—we've got someone from _SugarPop_ here to ask you both some questions, and a couple of billboard ads we've agreed to do for the Stadium Music Venue."

"Q-questions?"

"Relax, lovie," Hamuro said warmly as the elevator doors dinged open in the brightly lit studio. Naegi was smiling and laughing with a couple of people behind the fancy camera set-up. "Nothing to be nervous about." She nodded to one of the people Naegi was speaking to—a kind looking woman with a soft face and a plump figure. "Nii has a relaxation Quirk. She'll take care of all your nerves and make sure this goes swimmingly!"

"Er...okay."

Naegi gave her a warm smile and a kiss on the cheek as he led her to the brightly lit platform in front of the cameras.

"The dress looks lovely on you, Princess," he breathed in her ear.

Uraraka blushed. "Th-thanks."

"Just act natural, you'll be fine," he assured her before turning to the photographer. "Let's get started, shall we?"

It wasn't easy. Uraraka didn't know where to put her hands or what to do with her face, when to move or when to be still. Should she look at the camera? Should she look at Naegi? He was making it all look so simple that she could've punched him, but somehow she didn't think that was the shot they were going for.

About five minutes into what was surely going to be a trainwreck, Nii came to stand beside the photographer with a thoughtful look on her face. She stood, breathing in for an impossibly long time, and Uraraka could only watch the woman swell at she felt the tension literally sucked out of her body. Uraraka's eyes widened, her body relaxed, and Naegi chuckled beside her, hooking an arm around her waist and nuzzling his nose to her cheek.

"Wait for it," he said softly, warm breath tickling her skin in a not unpleasant way.

Finally, when Uraraka thought that Nii might just explode, she exhaled, blowing out a glittering sort of fog that settled around Uraraka and Naegi. Breathing it in caused a tingling warmth to spread through Uraraka, down her throat, through her chest, and all the way to the tips of her fingers, and a giddiness came with it. The worries and fears that had plagued her all day seemed trivial, laughable. Everything melted away as a happy haze settled over her mind, blocking out the bad bits and bringing a languid smile to her face.

She closed her eyes and breathed in again, the effects multiplying and bringing a giggle to her lips.

"I think that's enough, Princess," said Naegi, his voice a little strained—like he'd been holding his breath—and Uraraka, for some reason, found this hilarious.

The glittering mist disappeared around them as she laughed, Naegi looking down at her, amused. The camera flashed once, twice, thrice, and when Uraraka finally managed to control her laughter, she found it much easier to smile and pose and do everything asked of her.

It wasn't awkward anymore to have Naegi's arms around her, to feel him kiss her cheek or even to kiss his in return. She felt light and bright and weightless—the League was nothing, her scars were nothing, Bakugo was nothing.

It was so easy she wanted to put Nii in her pocket and bring her everywhere.

The high was still going strong as they were pulled aside for the interview with _SugarPop_ _Magazine_. Answers came easily to her smiling lips, though she spent most of her time watching Naegi talk, grinning up at him as he spoke of how he hoped his music helped people through hard times. He talked about saving Uraraka from that villain, and Uraraka was pleased to note that there was, for once, no twisting ball of regret in her stomach at the memory.

In this rose-colored world, Uraraka thought that she could actually see herself falling for the handsome boy sitting beside her. It was like having Hatsume's Quirk—she was able to zoom in and see only Naegi, everything else fell by the wayside.

So when the reporter asked, "Are you two in love?" Uraraka smiled wide and said, "I don't know yet, but we could be."

—

Her head was beginning to ache as she made her way out of the studio later that night. Naegi walked with her to the car, Okita trailing behind them as Naegi seemed to be preparing himself to say something.

Uraraka's mind was still a bit fuzzy from Nii's Quirk, but every breath of rainy evening air seemed to clear it a little more.

The past...she glanced at Naegi's watch... _three hours_ floated in her memory like a dream—she couldn't latch onto any single moment. If she tried, the details slipped away like sand through her fingers. She still had a generally good feeling toward them though, like the whole experience had been pleasant.

Not knowing for sure would've worried her more if it weren't for the lingering effects of the relaxation Quirk.

The reached the car and Naegi cleared his throat. One hand held an umbrella above their heads and the other couldn't seem to decide what to do with itself. He reached for her hand and then seemed to think better of it, choosing instead to put his into his pocket

"Uraraka," he began slowly, and she could have sworn that a faint blush dusted his cheeks. "I know you've still got Nii's Quirk on you, but I…"

She looked up and studied his face for a moment, reminding herself that this was _worth it._ He was handsome and kind and considerate—everything, really, that a girl could want. _Did_ want, if the things Mina said were anything to go by.

So why was it so hard for Uraraka to want him?

"Hmm?" she prompted him, tongue feeling thick in her mouth as the haze in her mind cleared a bit more.

"I was thinking...and I don't want you to answer right now—wait until the Quirk wears off—but I was thinking that this was…nice. And _you're_ nice. And you're lovely and sweet and I...I'd very much like for this, between us, to be real. I want to be with you when we're not in front of the camera, when it's not for show. And I know the lines have been kind of blurred since we started this whole thing, but once you've had time to think, I'd like to define it, if we could."

Without giving her a chance to respond, he kissed her on the cheek and opened the car door for her.

Uraraka swallowed, rubbing her pounding temples and forcing a smile onto her lips as she slip into the back seat.

 _How did I get myself into this mess?_

(Bakugo)

Bakugo had always prided himself on his ability to push aside his emotions, to focus the entire force of his being into rage and wild fury. He could box everything else up behind the sturdy walls of his mind and burn like a gunpowder trail to a bomb—single-minded in his intensity.

So that was what he did, slamming up wall after wall after wall around the piece of himself that had somehow gone so soft for Uraraka. The part that had thought, for a moment, that trusting her and caring about her wasn't a weakness. That opening up, even a little, to someone wouldn't make him vulnerable.

And he couldn't even blame her for what she'd done to him—she hadn't asked for it, she hadn't provoked him. She'd just been her godsdamned self: brave and fierce and loyal. Too kind for her own good, so much so that it even got to _him_. And too observant on top of it all, able to see straight through him to all the insecurities he tried to hide—and never once thinking less of him for any of it. It was a miracle that the whole fucking class wasn't trying to kiss her.

Gods, he'd tried to kiss her.

His fist smashed into the punching bag hard enough to send it swaying in its frame, the _thump_ of it echoing around the wide workout room beneath Gym Gamma. He launched another punch in quick succession, trying to drown out the easy, oblivious conversations the others that were there for an after school workout were having.

A sweeping glance around the room showed Kirishima trying to teach Buzzbrain, Soy Sauce Face, and Alien some hand-to-hand moves, Earphones and Uniform sparring in one corner, Deku and the class rep running the perimeter of the room—the drizzling cold outside no doubt driving them in, and Half-and-Half, Birdboy, and Froggy all doing their own thing on various equipment spread throughout the room.

He pushed the thought that anyone of them could be betraying them back behind the walls where he kept his feelings for Uraraka.

She'd known he wasn't the traitor.

She'd defended him when Nezu had accused him.

She'd seen that the thought of being a villain—the thought that he _could_ be a villain—scared him so much that he couldn't possibly be one.

And he'd tried to kiss her like a giant fucking fool.

He really should've known that there was never anything special about him, should've known that _she_ was the special one for seeing something inside him worth anything—for seeing something beyond his strength and his battle sense and his anger and deeming it worthy of some small bit of attention. He should've known she was the type to find something good in everyone.

Hell, she'd even spared the shitty Perv because she thought he could be better.

And the horrible, echoing emptiness he felt in the wake of her rejection (of _course_ she fucking rejected him, she had the Pretty Fucker giving her everything she wanted already) was exactly why he had to be done with all this. He'd box her up in the back of his mind and let those feelings gather dust. There was nothing there for him.

And there never would be.

His foot sent the punching bag careening dangerously away, and he ducked out of its path as it swung back toward him.

Friends. That was what she'd asked of him. " _We're a team. And I've decided that I'd very much like to be your friend, whether you want me or not."_

The bag was still moving as he slammed his fist into it again, his knuckles scraping against the tape he'd wrapped around them and the impact sending a shuddering pain up his arm—still sore from overuse in their fight with Toga and Dabi.

It would be a dangerous line to walk, being friends with her—even now, he couldn't get her out of his mind. But pushing her away altogether would prove that she'd hurt him, that she meant something to him. He could remain her friend, as much of a friend as he was to anyone (not much) and pass the whole thing off as a heated mistake. He just needed to make it clear to her that he wasn't interested in her like _that._

He swallowed and grunted, laying into the punching bag with renewed vigor, willing the fury that boiled inside him to seep into his bones, into his heart, into the walled-up corners of his mind.

He was going to be the number one hero. He would do it by honing his Quirk and building up his body and burning himself up to win. Victory at any cost, just like All Might.

And though the whole thing was shitty and he wasn't doing a great job of blocking out padded fingers and almost kisses and traitors and crumbling nightmares, even though he couldn't get her eyes out of his mind, even though he was totally, utterly _fucked_ and so much more...

Bakugo smiled.

It was an ugly thing—a raw, grimacing flash of teeth, not unlike the grin All Might had forced onto his face when he'd fought All for One. But Bakugo did it, and told himself that it dulled the ache in his chest.

But he'd never been much of a liar.

(Uraraka)

She pulled on her sleep shorts and a t-shirt after stepping out of the bathroom. Washing off the sweat and makeup and the last remnants of Nii's Quirk had been cathartic enough that her mind hadn't wandered too far in the shower. Only now, faced with the prospect of crawling into bed, did it hit her that she was about to be alone in the dark with her thoughts.

The night before, she'd quite literally cried herself to sleep, crawling in through her balcony and barely managing to strip the rain-soaked clothes from her body before falling face-first into her pillow. She'd been too consumed by anger, frustration, confusion, and the bitter taste of betrayal to actually _think_. To be afraid. To wonder.

But not tonight.

Naegi, now, became nothing in the face of her greater worries.

Whoever set the League on them in the mountains could've sat in class with her and smiled. They could've stood in line with her at lunch or sparred with her during training.

Someone she cared about wanted her dead. Wanted heroes to lose.

Toga would be beside herself with glee if she knew what this information was doing to Uraraka.

Throughout the day, she'd left the thought to simmer, coming back to check on it during still moments, but never allowing all of her focus to settle there.

In the quiet of her dark bedroom, the thought began to scream.

It bubbled up like boiling water in her chest, flooding through her lungs, dragging her heart under.

 _Traitor. There's a traitor._

 _Someone told Shigaraki that Deku would be at the mall that day._

 _Someone told the League the location of the training camp. Maybe even our locations at the time of the attack. Someone told the League where to find Bakugo._

 _Someone tipped off the Eight Precepts to the fact that we were going to save Eri. The traitor could be part of the reason Nighteye died._

Someone had looked Uraraka in the face today _knowing_ that Toga and Dabi had attacked her because of their information.

Bile rose in her throat.

Uraraka sank into a crouch where she stood, the light from the bathroom spilling out over her bed and casting a long shadow from her form. Her hands on either side of her face, she took a deep, shaky breath.

"Maybe there's been a mistake," she said aloud—a thought she'd had a hundred times throughout the day. The burning, aching, trembling feeling inside her didn't lessen at her words, and Uraraka squeezed her eyes shut.

She was safe here, in her room. The familiar jasmine and lavender scent of her mother's homemade candle wrapped around her like a blanket, the hum of the electric fan on the table was a well known melody, and the hazy glow that filtered in from the outdoor floodlights cast a reflection of the rain upon her walls just the same way the street lamp would do outside her bedroom back at home.

But there was no one there to stop the screaming in her mind.

She glanced at her phone, the display showing that it was still several hours to midnight. Everyone should be awake.

Weighing the options, Uraraka decided to tiptoe out of her bedroom and head up the stairs beside it. There was really only one person to go to when you needed comforting.

Yaomomo didn't answer the door, but Mina did, blinking in surprise when she saw Uraraka standing outside the vice rep's room.

"It's Uraraka," Mina called over her shoulder. Her face was paler than normal and her eyes lacked some of their usual luster.

"Let her in." Momo's voice came from inside, but it sounded off. A little wobbly. "She probably needs this as much as we do."

Uraraka waved her hands in front of her face. "I didn't mean to interrupt anything. I just—"

"It's fine," Mina said, grabbing Uraraka's wrist and pulling her inside. "We're just eating and crying and complaining."

"Crying?" Uraraka asked, taking in the sight as she entered the room—Yaomomo was cocooned in a fluffy blanket in the middle of her massive bed with a big bag of chips and a box of cookies sat in front of her, and after Mina shut the door, she crawled up onto the mattress across from the class vice rep. Uraraka followed, settling in next to Yaomomo, who opened up the blanket without question and allowed Uraraka to settle into her side.

Eucalyptus incense burned on the small bedside table and the room was lit by a series of lamps. It was nothing like home, but it was nice all the same.

"There are crumbs," Yaomomo muttered, more as an afterthought than a warning, glancing down at the cookie bits in her lap.

Uraraka didn't care, and prodded her gently in the side, reaching for a cookie and nibbling on it as she repeated, " _Crying?_ "

"We've all been doing some of that here recently," said Mina, looking down at her hands. She dragged one of them across her nose and said, "Just...so much keeps happening. Yesterday...with the League. I thought...I _thought…_ " She took a deep, shuddering breath, and when she looked up at Uraraka there were fresh tears in her eyes. "I thought...f-for a second...that K-Kirishima-a was d-d- _dead_. And I th-thought I was next."

Uraraka reached out from under Yaomomo's blanket to squeeze Mina's hand. She thought back to her fight with Toga and Dabi, how Toga had almost thrown that knife at Bakugo's back. How Toga had managed to give him that nasty cut in the side as he rushed to get them out of Dabi's range.

How _close_ all of it had been.

And there weren't really words that were good enough. There weren't words to tell Mina that she understood and felt her pain wanted to make it better but couldn't.

So she just squeezed her hand and hoped it was enough.

"What about you, Yaomomo?" she asked after a moment, reaching out to brush some crumbs from the front of Momo's night shirt.

Yaomomo sniffed, shoving another cookie into her mouth. She chewed, surprisingly delicately, and swallowed before she said, "It's nothing, not compared to what you two have been through."

"That…" Uraraka started, still searching for the right thing to say. "That doesn't mean it's not important."

"It's just...I'm the class vice representative, but it seems like I'm never... _there_ when important things happen. I didn't get an internship, so I wasn't there when you took out the Eight Precepts of Death. I wasn't there when you guys fought off the League yesterday. I guess I just feel like...like I'm not doing enough."

Uraraka wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You do _so much_ for us, though. You're always the person who's there for us. Someone we can depend on and lean on...that's why I came tonight, honestly." Uraraka frowned, feeling suddenly very selfish for thinking that she'd come to Yaomomo for comfort without offering anything in return, without thinking about how _she_ might be feeling. "And...you _went_. When Bakugo was taken by the League, when the _most_ was on the line, you went. And that means more than everything I've done put together."

Mina nodded. "She's right, Momo. You do _so_ much for us, for all of us. We'd be a little lost without you."

Yaomomo smiled slightly, her cheeks turning pink. She wiped a tear from her eye and said, "Thanks guys. I...I'd be a little lost without you, too."

"What about you, Uraraka?" Mina asked, scooting closer and putting a hand on Uraraka's knee. "What's wrong?"

Just as Uraraka opened her mouth, the door swung open, and all three girls turned to see Jiro standing in the frame. Her eyes were red and puffy, but wide like a deer in the headlights as she realized Yaomomo wasn't alone.

"I...uh...I'll just um…" Jiro stuttered, tugging nervously on one earjack and going red as she turned to leave. Mina was on her before she could even take a step.

"You're about to fit right in!" Mina assured her, pulling Jiro onto the bed.

Jiro took a breath, clearly trying to pretend she hadn't already been crying, and flopped down so her head was in Yaomomo's lap. Her face was still pink and she fidgeted nervously, but seemed to realize that they were all upset over something.

"I'm going to get crumbs on you," the vice rep warned, and Jiro only shrugged.

"What's wrong?" Uraraka asked, taking another cookie. She used it to wave vaguely around them. "You've entered a judgement free zone."

Jiro sighed. "It's...stupid."

"As stupid as brain-friend Kaminari?" asked Mina, shoving a handful of chips into her mouth and maneuvering so Jiro's legs could drape across her lap.

"Not _that_ stupid," said Jiro, a small smile tugging at her mouth. "Nothing is _that_ stupid. But...close."

"Does it have something to do with the thing we talked about?" asked Yaomomo. She stroked one hand through Jiro's hair absentmindedly. "You know…"

"Ugh. _Yes._ "

Uraraka exchanged a look with Mina and shrugged one shoulder to show that she didn't know what the two of them were talking about.

"It's…" Jiro started, her face turning red again. "Hagakure."

"Did you finally ask her out?" This, from Mina, who grabbed another handful of chips and bounced her knees up and down in anticipation.

"WHA—? How did you—"

"Um, it's obvious? Right Uraraka?"

"I actually hadn't noticed," Uraraka assured Jiro, smiling down at her. Uraraka had been on the receiving end of _plenty_ of relationship questions herself and knew that it was nice to have someone on your side.

Mina pouted, but soon was leaning across Jiro's legs to get closer to her face. "She didn't reject you, did she?"

"It's not that…" Jiro covered her face with her hands, muffling her next words. "We were sparring tonight and she just went on and on and _on_ about Bakugo—"

" _Bakugo?_ " Mina and Uraraka gasped together.

"Hagakure likes _Bakugo_?"

"Yeah," said Jiro dismally. "She was nervous about saying anything because she thought we'd all think she's crazy. I mean, she _is_ freaking crazy because _Bakugo_ is crazy, but...ugh."

"Is she going to say anything to him?" Yaomomo asked. "Knowing Bakugo she's just going to end up with her heart broken."

Uraraka hated herself, a bit, for the satisfaction she got from the truth of Momo's statement. She had no _claim_ on Bakugo. She didn't...she didn't _want_ him like _that_.

Except, when he'd almost kissed her...

She almost hadn't stopped him.

"That's what I tried to tell her," said Jiro. She reached for the chips and stuffed several into her mouth. "But she said she just 'can't get him out of her head' and he's got that 'dreamy bod' and whatever and ugh! It's so frustrating! I don't think she going to _do_ anything about it, but it still means that she's clearly interested in someone that's not _me_."

Mina caught Uraraka's eye, and Uraraka looked pointedly away.

"I don't think you need to worry about competing with Bakugo," Mina snickered. "He's got his eyes on a different prize."

"Yeah," said Uraraka, sticking her tongue out at Mina while Jiro wasn't looking and pretending that her heart rate didn't just go from walk to flat-out sprint.. "Being the number one hero. He doesn't have time for anyone but himself."

"He's likes you and you know it!" Mina blurted out.

Uraraka felt her face heat up. "He does _not!_ "

"Whoa whoa whoa. Back up. Bakugo likes _Urakaka?_ "

" _Please_. It's even more obvious than you and Hagakure!"

" _No._ We're _friends—_ "

"Bakugo doesn't have friends!"

"Stop teasing her, Mina," Yaomomo chided, wrapping an arm around Uraraka's shoulders. "She has a _boyfriend._ One, I might add, that you were ecstatic about!"

"Naegi's dreamy but Bakugo is all kinds of hot and mysterious."

Uraraka buried her face in her hands. "Bakugo doesn't like me. He _tolerates_ me. There's a difference." She tried desperately to ignore the voice in her head still whispering about the almost kiss. "Besides, Yaomomo is right—I've got Naegi!"

" _You_ having a boyfriend does nothing to keep Bakugo from liking you. You know as well as I do that he does whatever he wants."

" _Anyway_ I thought we were talking about _Jiro_ ," Uraraka said, looking away as Mina gave her a smug grin.

"There's nothing to talk about," mumbled Jiro. "I like Hagakure, who likes Bakugo, who maybe likes you, and _you're_ dating a freaking superstar. Obviously only one of us is winning here."

"What about Kaminari?" Yaomomo asked, still running a hand through Jiro's hair. "He seems to really like you."

"I know he does. But…"

"But…?"

"I don't know. I just don't…. _feel_ that way for him. Things would be easier if I did."

"That's part of it all," said Mina. "You don't get to pick who you love. You just have to hope they somehow feel the same things you do."

Uraraka swallowed and looked down at the scars on her hands, images from the night before flashing through her mind— _Bakugo's hands in her hair, his warm breath against her lips._

The way her heart had started a frantic drumbeat against her ribcage. The way she'd _wanted_ to close the distance between them. The way she'd wanted to feel his lips pressed against her own. She'd wanted to show him that _he_ was wanted. And she'd done just the opposite.

"You can always date me," Yaomomo was saying to Jiro, studying another cookie before popping it into her mouth. "Having big boobs isn't all it's cracked up to be. Pretty sure the only guy who has the guts to notice me like _that_ is Mineta—ew."

She missed the way Jiro went red from neck to forehead.

"Todoroki seems to...notice you."

"Todoroki notices just about everything. And all of it with the same calculated indifference."

"Pfft. Tell us how you do it, Uraraka," said Mina, twisting and flopping down next to Jiro, resting her head on Uraraka's thigh. "Tell us how you get all the boys to notice you."

Uraraka, mouth full of cookie, shrugged, feeling the blush creep into her cheeks again. "Dunno," she mumbled thickly, then swallowed. Tsuyu's voice rang in her head: " _You're not doing anything, Ochako hun. You're just being yourself. That is enough."_

"But you admit that Bakugo likes you!"

"Gah!" Uraraka balked at Mina's exclamation and waved her hands in front of her face. "N-No! He—I….we're a _team_. We've worked together a lot recently is all."

" _Right_." Mina whipped out her phone, flipping through it until she found the picture she'd taken of Uraraka and Bakugo on the bus. "Do you _really_ think he'd let just anyone sleep on his like this?"

" _Dude_ ," said Jiro, grabbing the phone and showing the picture to Yaomomo.

The vice rep's eyebrows shot up, and she gulped down her bite of cookie so she could say, " _Wow_."

"Right?"

"You guys are crazy," Uraraka groaned, burying her face in her hands. "I don't think Bakugo knows what it even means to _like_ someone."

But he sure as hell know what it meant to want to kiss someone.

Uraraka groaned again.

"Something you're not telling us, Ochako dear?"

"All right, all right, leave her alone, Mina," said Yaomomo. "We promised that this was a safe zone. Don't make her talk about things she doesn't want to talk about."

" _Fine_ ," Mina sighed, brushing Uraraka's cookie crumbs off her face. "What about Naegi then?"

"Oh...he's, er, good," Uraraka said awkwardly. "We had a photoshoot today, but I didn't actually get to talk to him much."

It would be nice, she thought, to be able to tell them about what he'd said—how he wanted to date her for real. But they didn't know the whole story, and not only had she promised not to say anything about the circumstances surrounding their relationship, Uraraka just didn't really have it in her to tell them now.

And she couldn't mention anything about the traitor either.

No, there was only one person who knew about everything.

When had Bakugo Katsuki become the person who knew all her deepest secrets? When had _he_ become the only person she could confide in?

Not that she _could_. Not about Naegi. Not after the almost kiss.

They sat in silence for a moment before Jiro said, "You know what?"

"Hmm?"

"It doesn't really matter—who we like or who likes us or any of the complicated romance stuff. We...we're here to become heroes first, right? And as long as we can do that...the rest shouldn't be important."

"I don't know," said Yaomomo, frowning a bit and stroking Jiro's hair again. "I think it's important for heroes to have people that they care about, that make it all worthwhile."

"But we don't need _love_ , you know?" said Mina. She reached her hand up and clasped it around Uraraka's. "I mean, we've got each other, right? That's important too."

Uraraka squeezed her hand. "Besides, we've got three years to figure all this out. Just because things don't work out right away doesn't mean they won't eventually."

"What if Hagakure is straight, though?"

"What if she's _not_? Or what if you find someone you like even more than her?"

"Yeah! Momo's available, remember? And she's hot as hell."

Both Jiro and Yaomomo flushed at Mina's words, and Uraraka decided to save them from responding by tipping back to lay on one of the big, fluffy pillows. The blanket she was sharing with Yaomomo dragged the taller girl down too.

" _Uraraka_ , you never told us what was bothering _you_ ," Mina complained, even as she scooted up on the bed to curl up next to her, big black eyes fluttering shut.

"It's nothing," Uraraka said. And it was true. Lying there with them, it was easy to push thoughts of traitors from her mind. It wasn't one of them. And maybe it _was_ all a big mistake. But here, she really did feel safe. "I feel better just being with you guys."

And though the room was unfamiliar, the company made it feel a bit like home, and Uraraka drifted off to sleep much more quickly than she'd thought.

(Bakugo)

He leaned against the outer wall of Heights Alliance, watching his classmates trickle out in clusters, heading sleepily toward the main building for class.

 _The fuck's taking you so long?_

There was only one option if he was going to still be her friend and swallow his feelings and make it all look like it meant nothing to him. But really it would all depend on how she took it.

Part of him thought it would be easier if she just told him to fuck off, that she'd made a mistake in ever trying to be his friend in the first place.

When in the fuck did it all start to matter so much? When had someone _else_ started to matter?

Irritated with himself, he glanced at his watch. If she didn't leave soon she'd be late to homeroom. So would he, for that matter. He shoved his hands in his pockets and ground his teeth, telling himself this would be the last time he bothered inconveniencing himself for someone else.

Finally, after what seemed like the entirety of the class had made their way across the yard, the vice rep marched out of the dorm, half dragging a stumbling Alien, Earphones, and Uraraka behind her.

They didn't notice him as they passed and Bakugo 'tched'—what if a villain had been waiting to ambush them? What if the traitor had been about to make a move?

"Oy, round face."

All four girls stopped and turned back, and the corners of Bakugo's mouth pulled down at the sides.

"I was only talking to her," he said, trying to keep his tone even as he gestured to Uraraka. "The rest of you can piss off."

The vice rep gave him a shiteating, knowing look and Bakugo almost flipped her off, but stopped at Uraraka's scolding, " _Bakugo_."

"Hang back a minute," he said, giving her no time to argue. "I wanna talk to you."

Uraraka flushed, probably assuming (correctly) that it was going to be about his godsdamned _idiocy_ that night in his room.

Earphones gave Bakugo a sour look and then said to Uraraka, "We'll wait for you if you want."

"It's okay," said Uraraka, waving her hands in front of her face and working her lips into a smile. "I'll catch up."

"Are you sure—"

"Yes, guys, jeez."

"Come on, you two," the vice rep said, pulling Alien and Earphones away. She still had that stupid knowing smile on her face and Bakugo wondered, briefly, if Uraraka had told them what he'd done.

Once they were a decent way across the yard, Uraraka turned back to Bakugo, who pushed off the wall and started making his way slowly toward the school building. She fell into step beside him, hands on the straps of her backpack and eyes on her feet as she waited for him to speak.

"Oy, look at me, not at the ground, dumbass."

 _Good start._

But her eyes flicked to his, and it was Bakugo's turn to flush, ears burning and heat creeping up along the back of his neck.

 _Those damn eyes_.

Uraraka seemed to gain a bit of confidence at the redness in his face, and she gave him a crooked sort of smile. "So are we practicing for Midnight's staring test or were you actually going to tell me something?"

"Quiet, you." His growl didn't come out as rough as he'd hoped.

She continued to smile, waiting for him to speak, and Bakugo wondered, briefly, what could possibly be going through her mind. She didn't seem angry, which was a surprise. She didn't seem on edge or at all concerned that he might try something again.

 _Walls, Katsuki. Keep them up, godsdamnit_.

Uraraka just seemed...content. At ease. Like walking with him to class was the most natural thing in the world.

 _Nothing for it but to do it,_ Bakugo thought, hating himself for hesitating and not able to do a damn thing about it.

"Fuck all, I'm sorry, okay?"

Uraraka blinked. "Wh-what?"

"I'm not fucking saying it again, round face. You heard me." Bakugo looked away from her, grinding his teeth and willing the redness in his face to fade.

"But...what for?"

 _She forgot? SHE FUCKING FORGOT? After I've been agonizing over this shit ever since it happened?_

"You're an idiot."

"But...you mean..." A glance at her showed her flushing again, wide-eyed and open mouthed as she stuttered. "You mean what happened...in y-your room?"

" _Obviously_."

Uraraka stopped walking and crossed her arms. "Y-you don't have to apologize for that, you dummy."

"Yes I fucking do," Bakugo half-shouted, exasperated. He rounded on her, mirroring her stance. "I'm an asshole, not a _creep_."

And surprisingly, annoyingly, _wonderfully,_ Uraraka laughed.

"Okay, okay," she said, putting her hands up in mock surrender. "Then you're forgiven. But don't think…." She broke eye contact, glancing at her feet before catching herself looking down and choosing a spot above Bakugo's head instead. She was turning pink again, the color blossoming out from her already pink cheeks and spreading up to her forehead and down below the collar of her shirt. "Don't think that you... _offended_ me. Or hurt me. I mean...you stopped when I asked you to. And...and...you didn't, er, you know... _force_ me to do anything….and I was the one that came to _your_ room...and—"

"Oy, stop rambling."

She dragged her eyes back to his and he wished she hadn't, because it took every ounce of restraint in him not to look away himself.

How the fuck was he supposed to make her think he didn't care about her?

"I just mean to say. " Uraraka took a deep, steadying breath. "That you shouldn't think that you're wrong to...to _feel_ things."

There it was. The perfect opportunity.

And Bakugo never shied away from opportunity.

"Tch," he said, turning and continuing their path toward the school. It was easier with his back to her. "I _didn't_ 'feel' anything, Ur—round face. Heat of the damn moment and shit. Don't read anything into it."

"O-oh." Was he imagining the twinge of disappointment in her voice?

She caught up to him, a bright smile on her face that he couldn't quite read. "W-well good! I mean, that would be weird, r-right?"

"Yeah…weird."

She seemed to deflate, like all the air inside her rushed out. Fidgeting with her fingers and biting her lip in a way that made Bakugo a little too warm, she walked with slumped shoulders beside him. "I'm glad. I-I mean—whatever you know what I mean. I'm just glad it's _not_ weird because I've been driving myself _insane_ thinking about...you know... _who it could be_."

"Tch."

"Don't tell me you haven't wondered," she chided. They reached the school building and picked up their pace as the bell for homeroom rang.

Bakugo ground his teeth. "No shit I have. But it won't do any good. It won't change a damn thing. It is who it is, and speculating without any proof won't get us anywhere."

"I know…" said Uraraka, pouting. "But still..."

"Just….trust who you trust, all right?"

She was good with people. Good with reading them and understanding them in ways that they didn't even understand themselves. At least, she was with him. She of all people didn't need to doubt her judgment.

They were almost to the classroom when she stopped, grabbing him by the sleeve meeting his eyes in a way that he feared told her _way_ too much about the things he did and didn't feel.

"I…" she started, pulling her hand away to run a thumb across the scar on her palm. "Thank you."

And, for once, Bakugo thought _he_ might be seeing more of _her_ than she intended. It wasn't a thank you for reassuring her about who the traitor might be. It wasn't a thank you simply for the apology or for being her friend or for fixing her hand that day in the cave or any of it.

It was, astoundingly, a thank you for just...being. She was _content_ with him, as he was. Enough, she'd said. And maybe she'd actually meant it.

And he sure as hell wasn't ready for _that_.

So, in typical Bakugo fashion, he shrugged and shouldered by her into the classroom, ignoring the dry "thank's for finally deciding to join us," from Aizawa and slouching down into his desk.

He didn't watch Uraraka as she found her own seat.

 _She's the special one, dumbass, not you,_ he growled at himself. He was smart and strong and powerful enough to become number one, but Uraraka...

She was something else all together.

And maybe the Pretty Fucker was giving her everything she wanted. Maybe he was good and right for her. But that disappointed "oh" when Bakugo told her he didn't feel anything...that gave him just enough hope to wonder.

But like he'd said...wondering alone wouldn't get him anywhere.

Walls were made to crack and crumble, especially in the face of him, of _them_. And the walls Bakugo was trying to build himself were no different.

Maybe... _maybe_...she'd given him just enough hope to blast them down altogether and _fight_.

A grin twitched across his lips at the thought, and it wasn't the forced, aching All Might smile from the gym. This was something new and wild and bright.

A challenge and a promise.

Something that he only felt in the face of Uraraka.

Enough.

And more.

* * *

So yeah, this one is a bit different and I'm pretty bleh about it, but I'm super excited for the next chapter! Lots of juicy goodness!

Draw something, leave me a comment, tell me what you think! It GIVES ME LIFE. I seriously have so many feelings and long comments make my day. Unintelligible screaming makes my day. I JUST LOVE YOU GUYS OKAY.

Also, hit me up on tumblr if you want AND/OR join me on the Kacchako Discord Server! We talk Kacchako and life and lots of other fun stuff! You can find the invite on my AO3 or on the kacchako server tumblr page!


	17. Chapter 17: Don't Tell Me It's Impossibl

**A/N:** As ALWAYS, thank you SO MUCH to everyone who leaves reviews and who favorites and follows! It means SO MUCH TO ME, especially when I feel kind of meh about a chapter, like I did with the last one. SO THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH.

And also as always, you guys can find me on tumblr at tharroswrites and on the kacchako discord server (there's a link on my tumblr).

* * *

 **Chapter Seventeen: Don't Tell Me It's Impossible**

(Bakugo)

 _The tap room swirled from the darkness, building itself out of the chair to which he was chained. Panic was a brief and bitter friend, a frost that coiled around his heart for a single, aching second before it melted away in the face of his familiar fury._

 _The dream was always the same._

" _What say you join us?" said that voice—gravel and cracking ice made flesh._

 _But when Bakugo opened his mouth to refuse, he couldn't form the words, and looking down, he realized that he wasn't tied to the chair this time._

 _Confused, he studied the room again, and there, behind Shigaraki, the tv played footage of the U.A. press conference, just like it had every other time he'd been here._

 _But something was off._

" _There's a traitor at U.A.," said Eraserhead, looking at the camera in a way that made Bakugo feel like the teacher was trying to stare all the way through to where he sat. He said it with the same exhausted surety as he had when he'd spoken to Bakugo after they'd returned from the forest._

 _It cut to Nezu. "We've discovered his identity—Bakugo Katsuki of class 1A. He's revealed his true colors and joined them, so our task now is to shut down the League and Bakugo with them."_

 _Ice splintered through his chest again at that, his defiance going cold as Nezu's statement settled._

 _No one was coming to save him this time._

 _And he wasn't sitting anymore, but standing where Shigaraki had been seconds before. He was looking down at the chair, into big, brown eyes that weren't really done proper justice by his imagination. She was chained there, like he had been, suppressors over her hands and thick leather straps keeping her in place._

" _What say you join us?" he heard himself ask, noticing too late that he was scratching at his neck._

" _I thought you didn't want to be a villain," she said, her voice a mix of disbelief and disappointment. Her eyes narrowed just slightly, like she was looking at him and seeing him for what he was, and not at all liking what she found. "I thought you were good."_

 _And that felt like a Detroit Smash to the stomach._

" _Uraraka," her name was a prayer on his tongue and he wanted to fall to his knees and untie her, but a hand on his shoulder pushed him forward._

" _Show her what we do to heroes," Shigaraki said in his ear, and Bakugo's hands reached for her of their own volition._

 _A Quirk that was not his own prickled to life at the tips of his fingers, and he noticed blood beneath the nails._

 _Break. Destroy. Decay._

" _No," Bakugo breathed, but his body was out of his control and he could only watch as his hand, so slowly, latched finger by finger around her throat. "No!"_

" _S'okay, Bakugo," she said as her skin began to crumble, cracking and breaking at his touch. Her expression softened, a smile that screamed trust spreading across her dissolving features. "You're not really a villain. You're—" her voice faltered as her lips turned to ashes. "E...nough…"_

 _And then she was nothing by dust in his grasp and frost in his heart._

His eyes flicked open, wide awake in the dark of his room. Laying on his side, he stared ahead, toward the small table with the tv and the single All Might figurine, still standing proudly where Uraraka had left it.

He hadn't dreamed of that taproom in days and took a shuddering breath to calm his racing heart. Groaning, he sat up in bed, running his fingers through his hair before resting his head in his hands.

He knew they were just dreams. He knew they didn't _mean_ anything.

But knowing didn't keep the ice in his heart at bay. Knowing didn't stop the dreams from happening in the first place.

" _Fuck_."

There was no easy fix. It wasn't something he could just blast through and emerge victorious on the other side. This...this sinking darkness, this frustration, this _pain_ that had built up inside him since that day in the street all those months ago—that sludge monster and the weakling boy from his childhood who had the nerve to try to save him—it wasn't letting up or backing off.

The feeling of inadequacy, of failure in the face of his idol. The thought that All Might wasn't All Might because Bakugo Katsuki wasn't strong enough.

Because, more than once, he'd needed to be saved.

He wasn't the traitor, but if the results of his actions had any merit, he might as well be.

All Might chose Deku. Uraraka chose Naegi. And Bakugo was falling behind as everyone else raced forward.

He leaned his head back, rolling his neck and squeezing his eyes shut. It was time to step up his game again. Time to get out of his head and _keep pushing_. He wasn't good with the emotional side of things. If it were up to him, he'd push it all out of his mind and never dwell on it again.

But it didn't work like that.

And if he was going to move forward, he had to come to terms—with his feelings for Uraraka (hell, she basically already knew what he felt, if his embarrassed avoidance of her over the last few days were any indication), and his... _everything_ with Deku.

A soft knock sounded at the door, followed by a quiet "Bakugo?" and he groaned.

"What do you want, shitty hair?" He thought about staying where he was, refusing to even consider opening the door. But he was standing and walking toward it before he'd made the conscious decision to do so. _Damn Kirishima._

 _Damn "take my hand" and night vision goggles and risking expulsion to save him._

Bakugo stopped just inside the door, waiting. He could practically see Kirishima's face—scrunched up in concern as he tried to form whatever answer he was going to give.

"I heard…" Kirishima's voice was a little muffled through the door, and Bakugo pressed his forehead to the cool surface, still trying to figure out if he even wanted to know the rest of the answer. "You...you shouted. And I just..."

Bakugo's eyes widened. He'd shouted in his _sleep_? He hadn't done that in... _years._

"I'm here, you know. If you...wanna talk."

Bakugo blinked. The stupid compassion in Kirishima's voice set his teeth on edge. And yet…

Working his face into a scowl, he yanked the door open just enough to stick his head out. Kirishima stood in the hallway, clearly trying to not look concerned. His eyebrows shot up when he met Bakugo's eye, probably surprised that he'd even acknowledged his presence, and his Quirk hardened over his face and arms like a reflex.

 _Well if that didn't just speak volumes about Bakugo's nature._

"Tch," he spat, opening the door a little wider and crossing his arms over his chest.

Kirishima grinned sheepishly, his Quirk fading as he said, "This is the part where _you_ talk, you see. Looking at me like you're waiting for an explanation is kinda pointless, bro."

Bakugo _almost_ turned around and shut the door in his stupid, shark-toothed face.

"Nothing to talk about," he said instead. Needing, for some reason, not to return to solitude just yet.

Kirishima crossed his own arms, giving him a look that said ' _I think you're full of shit but I like my face un-exploded so I won't actually say it.'_

But he got the point across just fine.

"It's nothing," Bakugo said again, and Kirishima arched an eyebrow at him in a way that made him add, "that I can't handle."

The small admittance of there being something more than nothing made Kirishima smile, tilting his head a bit in a shitty _knowing_ sort of way.

"Never said you couldn't handle it," Kirishima said, shrugging. "But it's not...weak...to talk to someone about it. It might even help."

"Tch."

They were quiet for a moment, each staring off in different directions as neither acknowledged the fact that Bakugo was still standing in the doorway.

Eventually, Kirishima cleared his throat, frowning as he mustered the courage for whatever it was he was about to say.

"You like her."

It was a statement, not a question, and Bakugo wondered if he was really so obvious or if it was just Kirishima being way too fucking observant for his own good. Heat rushed to his ears in a blush that he felt all the way down his neck. Stupid, idiot body betraying him in one of the only ways he couldn't control.

Bakugo didn't really have it in him to lie. Besides, what was wrong with _wanting_ her? Other than the fact that she didn't want him back, yet? It wouldn't be the first time he wanted something he had to work his ass off for.

Kirishima would probably think it was _manly_ , even.

Besides, Kirishima didn't know about the traitor, didn't know about Nezu's suspicions or the dreams or the phantom feeling of skin disintegrating beneath his fingers. It would be easier, really, if he could only focus on the Uraraka half of his problems, at least that part wasn't so damn _weak_.

So, "Yeah."

To his credit, Kirishima remained relatively calm, visibly fighting a grin that twitched at the corners of his mouth.

"What are you gonna do?"

"I don't fucking know," Bakugo said before he could stop himself. He groaned, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. " _Nothing_ ….I don't know."

His shoulders sagged a bit, and he was _tired._ He leaned against the doorframe and looked down the hall, scowling at nothing in particular.

Kirishima seemed to understand. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his sleep pants and followed Bakugo's gaze.

"She's got a boyfriend."

"No shit."

"Is that….the only thing stopping you?"

"Nothing is _stopping_ me. I just haven't decided what to do yet." He turned to glare at Kirishima, who had an expression on his face that was something between shocked and impressed.

"Just—don't hate me for saying this—just be careful. You don't want to freak her out or anything."

"Tch."

Kirishima was right, of course. There was a fine balance between...between showing her that he felt something for her and going too far. But then again, it was _Uraraka_ and she was more likely to punch him in the face than allow him to do anything that made her uncomfortable.

"Just saying." Kirishima shrugged, hands still in his pockets, before cracking a smile. "And now Kaminari owes me money."

He ducked under Bakugo's half-assed right hook and laughed all the way back to his room.

(Uraraka)

The empty text message field glared at her accusingly in the early morning light. It had been almost a week and she hadn't given Naegi an answer.

 _[21:57 Naegi Nobusuke] Just checking up on you, princess. I was wondering if you'd thought about what I said at all? I'd love to get dinner with you soon and talk, but take all the time you need._

She'd started a response about six different times, each sounding worse than the last. The problem, she thought, was that there wasn't a good answer to begin with.

She _wanted_ to like Naegi, she really did, but there was just something... _missing_. There was a disconnect between them, as if they could say the same thing but with opposite meanings, and the nagging, pestering voice in her head was growing bolder.

 _He's missing scarred fingers and calloused palms. He doesn't smell like gunpowder._

 _Naegi doesn't aspire to heroism. He wouldn't burn himself up from the inside to reach his goal._

 _He doesn't say things like 'Have some faith in your damn self.'_

Uraraka groaned and flopped back onto her bed. She closed the messaging app and dialed a familiar number instead.

…

"Hello?"

"Hi, mom."

"Ochako, darling! I'm surprised to hear from you this early in the morning. Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine. I was just...thinking about you and dad is all."

Her mother was quiet for a moment, and Uraraka knew that her voice hadn't been convincing enough, that her mother would see through the flimsy lie. She stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom, at the collage of fading galaxy posters she'd pinned there—a familiar, comforting sight that she'd brought with her first to her small apartment and then to the dorms.

"Sweetheart…"

"It's _stupid_ , mom," Uraraka said suddenly, angry tears welling in her eyes as she sat back up. "It's so stupid that I'm embarrassed to even be upset about it."

Her mom laughed softly on the other end of the line, the warmth in her voice palpable across the distance between them.

"If it upsets you, it isn't stupid. Turn on the water heater, make yourself some tea, and we'll talk."

Uraraka stood and followed her mother's instructions, plugging in her old electric kettle as she said "Do you work today?"

"Your father can manage without me for a bit, sweetheart. He'll understand."

"Thanks," she mumbled, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of her low table. Her mind felt muddled. There was so much she wanted to say and so much that she _couldn't_ say. Uraraka had no intentions of making her parents feel indebted to her in any way. She wanted to help them and wanted them to be happy without the thought that they were burdening her at all.

Besides, it wasn't really a burden. Not when they _were_ happy and had good work and weren't worrying so much about money.

But at the same time, Uraraka's heart was aching and she needed her _mom._

"Mom...did you ever...like two guys at the same time?" Even as she said the words, she cringed. It sounded so pathetic, to be thinking about _that_ when she was training to be a hero. Besides, she didn't feel anything for Naegi, really, and who was to say she even _liked_ Bakugo?

Uraraka choked on spit. It was the first time she'd actually thought the words "liked" and "Bakugo" in that order with _that_ meaning.

And it made her dizzy.

"Ochako, that isn't stupid at all! Matters of the heart are...complicated. Is this about Midoriya?"

"Wha?" Her mind reeled. "N-no. It's someone else...Deku and I...we're only ever going to be friends." She hated the fact that she the words still tasted bitter. "Gods mom, why am I like this?"

"Because you have a big heart, with room for so much love. Are you and Naegi doing okay?"

"Yeah." _That_ lie came easily to her lips. "We're gonna be in _SugarPop_ magazine soon—maybe already. I don't know. We don't leave campus enough for me to know."

"That's so fun, Ochako! I'll pick up a copy today and see! But you're changing the subject. There's a boy other than Naegi?"

The kettle dinged and Uraraka poured steaming water over the teabag in her cup, holding the phone between her shoulder and her ear and deciding, in this at least, she could be honest.

"I don't know. Maybe?"

Her mother was quiet on the other end, waiting for further explanation, and Uraraka fidgeted with the string of the teabag as she continued.

"It's...he's one of my classmates. He's not someone that I would have ever expected to feel this way about, and he and Deku don't get along, which bothers me, but he's _trying_ to be better with Deku. He's trying to at least...respect him. And he respects me, too. He makes me feel like...like I can do _anything_."

"And Naegi?"

"Naegi..." Uraraka searched her mind, trying to come up with the best way to describe it without giving too much away. "Naegi is _sweet_. He makes me feel like a flower. Ba—this other boy makes me feel like a _mountain_."

"Which would you rather be?"

As if it were really even a question.

"I...I don't even know if he feels anything for me, though. Naegi had the guts to ask me out, which counts for a lot."

 _Bakugo almost kissed you though. He would have, if you hadn't stopped him._

But then he'd said it didn't mean anything. That he was caught up in the moment and didn't actually feel anything for her.

"This boy—he's kind of all over the place, mom. It's like one minute I think he really likes me and the next he's being a giant... _jerk_ and then he's telling me that I'm a...a _badass_ and pushing me hard enough that I feel like one. And I don't know what to think."

"What's this boy like?"

" _Stupid_. Great. Absurd. He wants to be the best at everything all the time. He wants to be the number one hero and he actually has a shot at it. He's strong and smart and _driven_. Being around him makes me want to be _better_. He...he closes himself off from everyone but he cares about people, deep down. Even though he doesn't always know how to show it like a normal person."

"Ochako?"

"Yeah?"

"You've said more about this other boy in five minutes than you have about Naegi in every conversation I've had with you since you started seeing him."

"W-well I just…" Uraraka fumbled. "It's complicated."

"It always is, sweetheart."

"What do I do?" Uraraka asked before she could remind herself that she already knew what to do—she couldn't risk her parents' job for something….

What even? Something that probably wouldn't even happen? What if she told Bakugo she liked him? What then? Even if he _did_ feel the same way, he was so like Deku—driven to the point of fanaticism. Most likely, he would tell her that he didn't have time for useless things like _relationships_ when he had to train to be number one.

"As much as I want to help, I can't make that decision for you," her mother said, and there was a hint of pain in her voice. "You have to choose for yourself. You have to...weigh the risks and the rewards and...and...choose the option that will leave you with the fewest regrets."

"Ugh."

Her mother chuckled. "I know, I know! It's hard, honey. But you're young, and you've got _plenty_ of time to worry about all that sort of thing. Try not to beat yourself up about it right now. As long as you do what's right by your heart and try not to hurt anyone else, you'll be fine."

Uraraka sighed, breathing out hard through her nose and letting her whole body deflate as some of the tension left it. Her free hand patted her cheek.

"Thanks, mom. You're right—big picture. I can do that."

"Just don't forget that the devil's in the details."

It was something her father always said about construction, and it brought a smile to Uraraka's face.

"I won't. Thank you—for listening."

"Always, Ochako. I'm glad you called me."

"Me too."

"I love you, honey."

"I love you, too."

She hung up the phone and finished her tea, setting the cup on the shelf near the door so she would remember to take it down to the kitchen and wash it.

It was Sunday, and remedial lessons would start before she knew it, so Uraraka dragged a hand through her hair and went to her desk, where the essay she'd written for Midnight sat mostly finished.

 _Bakugo Katsuki doesn't like words like weakness—he prefers to call such things obstacles and then find a way to overcome them. And he's got so many strengths, I shouldn't really have to list them. Everyone knows that he's strong and capable and can use his Quirk in amazing ways. Everyone knows how hard he pushes himself to get better, and how angry he gets when he fails. But I think his greatest strength is this refusal to have a weakness. He breaks himself to be better, he fights and trains and hurts until whatever weakness he thought he had is gone._

 _Not just physical weaknesses either. It takes him longer and it's harder to see, but he's learning to deal with emotional things too. He used to hate Midoriya, and I think a lot of that stemmed from feeling inferior to him. They were childhood friends and now they're both in the same hero course, but Bakugo was so strong off the bat and Midoriya wasn't, so Midoriya has grown a lot more in a short time. I think that scares Bakugo, since he wants to be number one, but he sees Midoriya growing so much faster than him._

 _But things have changed since Bakugo was kidnapped by the League, and he and Midoriya had that fight after we moved into the dorms and since then things between them have been different, better. I can see Bakugo biting his tongue more and_ _trying_ _. He's learning to see Midoriya and the rest of us as equals and rivals instead of threats, because I think he sees that looking down on the rest of us is never going to help him grow. He's becoming more and more self aware, and learning to respect other people in the process. He's turning his weakness into a point of growth and I admire him so much for that._

It was convoluted and rambling and not nearly good enough. There was so much more to him that she wasn't sure how to fit in or put into words—that scar on the inside of his elbow from when he'd blasted through a river to put out that fire, the scar on her hand from where he'd taken the time to sew it back together, the feeling she got when she fought him—powerful and clear-headed and in control of herself.

Those were things that she didn't have words big enough for.

At least, not words she was willing to use.

Uraraka groaned and put her head down on the desk, hands pushing into her hair and resting there, like she could hide beneath them.

"Okay, Ochako," she said aloud. "Pull it together. You're never going to be able to save _anyone_ if you keep getting stuck in your head."

She paused, feeling a bit better hearing the words. "You don't need a boy. You don't need anyone but _you_ ….Don't base your life on someone else."

 _Except mom and dad._

She hated the way Bakugo's voice still echoed in her head: " _Living your entire life for someone else isn't really living._ "

"Damn it, Ochako," she muttered, sitting up and patting her cheeks again. "Pull. It. Together. You want to make money for your parents. You want them to have an easier life than the one they've been given. You want to do that by being a hero and saving people. You want people to live better lives because of you. You want to make up for...for Nighteye."

She stood, making her way to her bathroom to get ready for the day. Staring herself down in the mirror, she finished with, "You don't just _want_ to do those things. You're _going_ to do those things."

Whatever it took.

(Bakugo)

This had to be better than Midnight's first lesson.

At least they were in their tracksuits and standing outside Ground Beta, that meant that _something_ would be happening beyond eye contact.

Midnight stood in front of them, with Eraserhead on one side and a woman that Bakugo thought he vaguely recognized on the other—small and lithe, probably in her thirties, with a scar that mangled the left side of her face. She wore an eyepatch that covered some of it, but the twisting tissue made it look like she'd been raked by a very large set of claws.

"Everyone, I would like to introduce you to pro hero Empath," said Midnight, the gleeful look in her eyes was not at all encouraging. "She's going to be in charge today, so treat her with the same respect you would any teacher of U.A."

Empath stepped forward, pulling her shoulder-length auburn hair into a ponytail and surveying the students with a single, practiced eye. The scars set her face in a permanent smirk, but Bakugo could've sworn she was frowning. Smaller even than Uraraka, she exuded power and experience. Why had he not heard of her before?

"My Quirk is a complicated one," Empath said, her voice deeper than he would've expected for her size. "And most of you are not going to have an easy time today."

Kirishima, standing beside Bakugo, gave him a questioning look. Bakugo just shrugged and glanced across the group to where Uraraka stood between Alien and that redheaded girl from Class B.

Of course, the second he found her face, her eyes flicked to his, cheeks turning pinker under his gaze.

He looked away too quickly, his own ears warming up.

"Quirk swapping," Empath was saying, and Bakugo blinked. "I can temporarily switch the Quirks of any two people I touch. I'll be swapping the Quirks of the partner groups, and you will fight robots like the ones you faced in the U.A. entrance exam."

There was muttering among the students, but Midnight cut them off. "Aizawa is here in case something goes wrong. He can cancel anything you find yourselves unable to control. And Recovery Girl is standing by—I want you to go all out!"

"First," said Empath, pursing her lips. "I want you to find your partners and talk through the mechanics of your Quirks. I've done this many times over with long-term pro hero teams, and you can never give the other person too much information. Anything possibly relevant, you should share. When you think you're ready, come to me."

Kirishima swallowed audibly beside him, but Bakugo brushed by him and met Uraraka half-way. She was twisting her fingers and chewing on her bottom lip, but she didn't break his eye contact.

They were quiet for a moment, and Bakugo wondered if she was replaying the last real conversation they'd had—his "I didn't feel anything" and her "o-oh."

"It's...good that both of our Quirks are based in our hands," she said, cheeks coloring again as she brought her hands up between them. "I mean, at least we're not dealing with some sort of full body Quirk, right?"

"Tch," said Bakugo, hating her nervousness. He didn't know how to _deal_ with shit like that, other than to push through it, so he lifted his own hands and held them palms-up in front of her. "I don't like to repeat myself, so listen. I sweat glycerin, but I sweat _nitroglycerin_ in my palms. Obviously, it's explosive, but you have to ignite it to make anything happen. More sweat means bigger explosions. It's possible for it to be ignited by outside sources, so I have to pay attention around fire and electricity, but in general, it's a choice."

"That's kinda like mine," Uraraka said. She was standing close enough that he could smell jasmine and lavender. "I have to touch something with all the pads on at least one of my hands, but I choose to activate or not. How do you, you know, do it?"

Bakugo paused. How _did_ he activate it? It was innate, so instinctual that he'd never given it much thought. It was like breathing—he just did it.

"How do _you_?"

He didn't know if it would help or make things worse, but Bakugo wasn't one to hold back when he'd made his mind up about something, so he reached out, closing his hand around hers and running his thumb along the rough pad of one of her fingers.

The initial contact made her tense, but the touch to her fingertips seemed to relax her, thank gods. She was always rubbing them herself when she was nervous, maybe the motion brought her comfort.

Looking at their hands, she said, "I...I don't _know_. It's just something...I do. Like…."

"Breathing?"

"Yeah." Her eyes rose to meet his again, setting off firecrackers in his stomach.

He clenched his teeth and frowned to keep from smiling. "Well, this could either be really easy or a giant fucking disaster."

Uraraka _did_ smile, accompanied by a laugh that bubbled out of her and wrinkled the corners of her eyes. "Come on, Bakugo, where's that winning attitude? We just won't let it be a disaster, right?"

"You say that _now._ I don't want my Quirk to burn your hands off."

Uraraka pulled a face that was something between worried and unimpressed, which was a feat in itself. "I'm _imagining_ that I'll get the thick palm skin too. Monoma's used your Quirk before right? At the Sports Festival? And he was fine."

"Fair point," said Bakugo. He'd forgotten that, stupid shitty Copycat. "If he can handle it, you shouldn't have a problem."

"We'll just start careful and small and go from there. At least we've worked together enough to have a general sense of things."

"Damn, and I was planning a deadfall straight out the gates."

Uraraka stared at him, wide-eyed for a moment, before a crooked smile spread unabashedly across her face.

And then she was laughing again.

He would've liked to say that he'd made the comment to amuse her, but he'd said it in sarcasm more than anything. Leave it to Uraraka to still find him funny.

She snorted, covering her face with her hands as her shoulders shook.

"You're making a scene," Bakugo teased, crossing his arms over his chest in a triumphant sort of stance.

"That was... _unexpectedly_ funny," Uraraka said between breaths. She wiped her eyes and Bakugo noticed some of the others watching them. Kirishima gave him a not-so-subtle thumbs up, and Bakugo sent him a middle finger back.

He returned his gaze to Uraraka, who was grinning at him, and his vision flashed—the disappointed, aching Uraraka from his dreams imposing herself on this Uraraka's face.

He blinked and it was gone, and he found some solace in the face that _this_ Uraraka's eyes were right—so much more vibrant than they'd been in his dream.

 _Gods, I'm such a fucking sap._

"Well, nothing to it but to do it, right?" she said brightly, flexing one of her arms. "Let go kick some robot butt. I've been wanting a rematch anyway."

"With a _robot_?" Bakugo asked, shoving his hands in his pockets and starting toward Empath, who stood at the gates of Ground Beta.

"Yeah. One of those big zero point ones almost got me during the entrance exam. But I'm better now."

"With _your_ Quirk."

" _In general_ ," she said defiantly, putting her own hands in her pockets and pushing up on her toes to get in his face as they walked, she moving backward with an easy sort of grace. "I've got better battle sense and basic combat ability—and _you're_ amazing regardless—we're gonna kick but _for sure_."

She said it so casually, so easily. And it was _true_ , but people didn't usually say things like that. It made those sparks in his stomach spread to his heart in something he could definitely pretend was heartburn.

If he was still pretending.

Which he wasn't.

They stopped in front of Empath. The small, scarred woman radiated confidence and power, but Bakugo wouldn't balk in the face of her—pro or no.

"Hands out of your pockets, both of you," she said, giving each of them a long, hard look. "It's going to be disorienting at first, brace yourselves."

She reached up, putting one hand on Bakugo's shoulder and the other on Uraraka's.

The shift in his gut almost forced him to his knees.

It was like his blood started pumping in the wrong direction, like someone had tied his intestines in knots and forced him to swallow something carbonated. A thick fog rolled across his mind and spots flashed in his vision.

"Just breathe," said Empath. She sounded far away, like they were underwater.

Bakugo took a deep breath, forcing down the bile that rose in the back of his throat and bracing his hands on his knees.

Slowly, the nausea faded, his vision returned to normal, the fog in his mind cleared. He didn't feel entirely back to normal, but he was able to stand and flex his fingers, noting the strange absence of sweat in his palms.

He looked to Uraraka, to find her standing still, staring at her open hands like doing so was all that was keeping them from going off. Sweat beaded at her hairline and she worked her jaw in concentration. But she looked...stable.

He made to take a step toward her, but the axis shifted, and he stepped into a weightless, forward spin, head banging into the ground and propelling him further up. The nausea flared in his stomach worse than it had before, like he'd been hooked by the belly button and yanked upward. His throat burned and his eyes watered, and it took all his years of training to think clearly enough to press the tips of his fingers together and will himself back into the pull of gravity before he vomited.

He landed hard on his back, gagging as he closed his eyes and pressed the heels of his palms into them. Breathing a steady, constant rhythm helped dull the burn, but _fuck all_ he hoped no one else had seen him do that.

"Bakugo! Are you oka—eep!"

He cracked on eye to look at Uraraka, who had lost her concentration at his stupidity and rushed toward him, only to have small, popping explosions start in her palms. They crackled like sparklers, and she took a fumbling step backward, staring down at them in fearful surprise.

Forgetting his embarrassment, Bakugo jumped to his feet, swaying a bit and swallowing hard as he closed the distance between them. He grabbed her wrists, holding her hands out and away from her body in case the explosions suddenly got larger.

"Focus, Uraraka," he said, irritated at the way his voice came out sort of watery. "You can make it stop. It's just like breathing, remember?"

She tore her eyes away from her hands and met his gaze. The fear that flickered in her faded as he stared her down, and she clenched her jaw and nodded in determination.

"Like breathing," she said, closing her eyes then and taking a long, slow breath. As she exhaled, the explosions dimmed, then fizzled out all together.

"Good," he said.

She looked at him again, a small smile forming on her lips as she said. "Me? _You!_ When my Quirk manifested, I puked for a week straight. They had to put me on a fluid IV so I wouldn't get dehydrated. And you just...you just…"

Uraraka shook her head, amazement and admiration evident in her eyes in a way that made his stomach turn without any help from her Quirk. Heat rippled at the tips of his ears and he looked away from her with a "tch."

"You were what? Four? With no training? I'd hope I'd be better than that."

She chuckled, a small explosion popping off in one of her hands and making her jump. Breathing again, she clenched her hands into fists and grinned at him.

"Once you two are done gushing at each other, we'll get started," said Empath, and Bakugo looked back to where she stood watching them.

"Let's go, Bakugo," Uraraka said, her face flushed pink and her eyes bright. "We've got this!"

Bakugo couldn't help the grin that spread across his face as Empath opened the gates to Ground Beta and let them inside. "Damn right we do."

(Uraraka)

She was _hot_.

With Bakugo's Quirk coursing through her, it was like the blood was boiling in her veins and she shrugged out of the jacket of her tracksuit as soon as they walked into the familiar cityscape of Ground Beta. Sweat prickled on her forehead and her palms were wet with it.

It made her smell like gunpowder.

She was glad to have an excuse for her flushed cheeks, because Bakugo was being...well... _more_. The way he'd touched the pads of her fingers—like he'd known she was nervous and had paid enough attention to know that the contact there soothed her. The way his voice had been so... _calming_. Low and rough but soft, too. " _Like breathing_."

Uraraka shook her head and would've smacked herself in the face were it not for the fact that she might accidentally explode it.

 _Not the time for feelings, Ochako._

They walked together through Ground Beta, searching for the robots they were supposed to be fighting, and Uraraka looked back down at her palms, focusing on the feel of the sweat there.

Pinpricks of blood were pooling with the nitroglycerin, her skin not resistant enough to stand up to Bakugo's Quirk—larger explosions were definitely going to hurt. But if he could work through nausea, she could work through pain. If Bakugo could do it, so could she.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, studying the line of his jaw, set in concentration as he scanned the area around them. Her gaze traveled down his neck, around the curve of his adam's apple and over the muscles that connected to his broad shoulders—curse that black tank top, it left little to the imagination. Even though she'd seen him without a shirt before, she always avoided studying him too closely, avoided watching the way his muscles moved beneath his skin.

But suddenly, she couldn't look away.

Fire burned along her fingers with a _BANG_ , and she jumped backward, squeaking.

"Stop that," said Bakugo, glancing at her briefly before looking away again. "You wanna kick robot ass, you've gotta make it to the robot with functioning hands."

Uraraka laughed nervously, turning away from him to hide the blush in her cheeks.

 _Yeah, Ochako, stop that. Stop getting distracted by his stupidly beautiful face...and arms...and…_

She growled audibly, closing her hands into fists and stomping forward, focusing all her attention on finding a robot. She _needed_ a fight to get all this energy out.

"Oh godsdamn it."

Uraraka turned around to see Bakugo floating again, his cheeks turning red as he tried to maneuver himself into a better position to land in. She would've been amused, but the hem of his shirt was floating up, revealing the muscled plane of his stomach and making her feel like there were explosions going off in her brain and in her core.

She turned away so fast she made herself dizzy.

A thump and a grunt told her that he'd landed, and Uraraka was about to risk looking back at him again when he stomped up beside her.

"Stay the fuck _beside_ me," he said, furiously red in the face.

"Wha—?"

Impossibly, he turned even redder, eyes glued to her face like he was forcing them from wandering elsewhere. "Don't go walking off in front of me like that when I can't—"

But before he could finish, the building beside them collapsed.

They jumped away, both dropping into fighting stances on instinct. Uraraka willed her mind to focus—fighting with a Quirk that was not her own was _not_ something to take lightly.

"That's gotta be one of the big ones," Bakugo said, any hint of embarrassment gone as his hero voice took over. "You have a plan?"

Uraraka shook her hands out and rolled her neck. "I'm thinking we get it out in the open, you float it, and I'll get underneath it and blast it hard enough to put it into orbit."

"No holding back."

She grinned, his battle-confidence contagious. "Give it an All Might 110%."

"Let's fucking _go_."

Bakugo sprinted into the rubble of the destroyed building, the dust cloud swallowing him up in seconds. Uraraka took off after him, feeling cool and level-headed now that an actual challenge was present.

They reached the center of the destruction, and as predicted, it was one of the giant, zero-point enemies from the entrance exam. It was standing, swinging its arms around and knocking out the remaining bits of the walls. The ceiling above it was long gone, giving them a clear shot up and out of the training ground.

Its red eyes locked onto them when they appeared, and it began to roll toward them.

"Don't let the nausea catch you off guard or you'll drop it," she said to Bakugo, thinking of the many times she'd done just that. It wasn't easy, pushing through something so blindingly debilitating, but in the face of conflict like this, there wasn't any choice. If this were a real fight it'd be do or die.

And she wasn't one to roll over and let the villain win.

He grinned that wild, exhilarated smile he got before a good fight. "And you don't let the pain stop you. Let's wreck this thing."

As soon as she nodded, he ran, dodging the falling bits of debris. A huge metal hand reached down for him, and instead of moving out of the way, Bakugo jumped toward it, his fingers pressing into the palm as he yelled.

The robot started to float, and Bakugo stumbled as he landed, one hand clutching his head. Uraraka took her chance and flung herself forward, ducking under the robot and squeezing her eyes shut as she held her hands up over her head.

 _Like breathing_.

In...Out…

Red hot pain seared through her skin as the explosion ignited with a force that pushed her down to one knee. Bright light flashed against her eyelids and her arms buckled, shoulders giving out under the pressure.

But they'd done it, and she paused, taking another deep breath before peeking out at what they'd done.

The robot was sailing into the sky above her, and the explosion had cleared the dust and rubble just like it had when Bakugo had used it against her finishing move at the Sports Festival.

 _Bakugo_.

She whipped her head around, ignoring the pain in her hands and shoulders and knee as she stumbled toward him. He was doubled over, both hands braced against his thighs and breathing hard.

Uraraka stopped in front of him, hesitating before reaching out and putting her hand at the base of his neck—something her mother used to do for her when she was feeling really sick.

"It'll stop once it hits orbit," she said softly, her voice rough and she realized that she must've screamed as she unleashed the explosion. "When there's not gravity to cancel out, my Quirk deactivates automatically."

"You're bleeding," he said thickly. "Feel it. On my neck."

Uraraka snatched her hand away, seeing the bloody handprint she'd left there and watching the drops run down toward his chest. Looking at her palms, she winced. They were a blistered, torn mess.

"Sorry."

"Felt...good…" he paused, taking another deep breath and straightening. "Not the blood...just...your hand."

He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, and Uraraka knew that the robot must be out of the atmosphere.

"I can't believe you didn't puke."

"Don't talk about it yet," he said, and Uraraka swore his face turned green.

They stood there for a moment, facing each other in the remains of the building. Bakugo was covered in dust, with a scrape along his collarbone and Uraraka's blood around his throat. And _shit_ she'd put her hand there when she could've let off an explosion by mistake.

But he hadn't stopped her. He hadn't flinched beneath her touch.

And his _eyes_ —they were _scorching_ as he studied her. The admiration, triumph, _pride_ —all directed at her—caused her knees to wobble.

"Let me see your hands," he said finally, and Uraraka dragged her eyes away from his to look down at her bloody palms. He brought his own hands up to rest beneath hers, holding them as they started to shake with pain she'd been suppressing. "We should get you to Recovery Girl, come on."

Her shoulders ached too, from recoil from the blast, and _that_ was only going to get worse the longer she stood there.

"Are _you_ good to walk?" she said, studying the shaky concentration on his face.

"Don't ask stupid questions."

She had to laugh at that as they started picking their way back toward the entrance. And maybe it was the high from the short fight, or her conversation with her mother that morning, or the knowledge that in spite of _everything_ , he would've kissed her that night if she hadn't stopped him, but she said, "You are so... _amazing_ , Bakugo."

"The fuck?" He walked beside her, but wouldn't look at her, and she smiled a bit at the way his ears went red.

"The way you just... _refuse_ to ever let weaknesses get the best of you. It's like...it's like the way All Might fights—show him something he can't do and he _does_ it. If it were me, I'd _definitely_ be puking right now."

"You're an idiot, Uraraka."

"Huh?"

She saw him glance at her from the corner of his eye before looking forward again, the muscle in his jaw working in a way that made her want to get closer to him.

"Whoever said something to you that keeps you from seeing how incredible you are needs to _die_."

She blinked, thoughts of... _everything_ disappearing as her brain turned to goo. "I—I wasn't fishing for compliments or anything, you—"

"You think I'd say something just because you asked me to?"

"No…"

"And besides, even if you _did_ puke, you'd just get back up and keep going. That's just as strong as refusing to puke in the first place."

They reached the entrance to Ground Beta, and found that Kendo and Monoma were the only other team to have returned yet. Monoma grinned, laughing loudly at them before a karate chop to the back of the neck shut him up.

"Nicely done, you two!" said Midnight as they stumbled toward Empath. "Get switched back and head on up to Recovery Girl."

Empath was waiting with a neutral look on her face. "So. Learn anything?"

Uraraka brought a bloody hand up to rub one of her aching shoulders. "Uh...that Bakugo is even crazy stronger than I thought?"

"Nausea is a fucking _bitch_."

Empath gave them an odd look, like it wasn't exactly what she'd been expecting, but reached out, a hand on each of their arms as she switched them back.

It felt like a warm wave crashing into her, the familiarity of her own Quirk seeping back into her body and wrapping around her bones. The sense of strangeness she'd had since the swap dissipating.

"Thank gods," Bakugo said beside her, sparks blinking in his hands as he settled back into his own Quirk. "No wonder you collapsed on me at the Sports Festival. That felt like shit."

Uraraka shrugged, showing him her hands. "I've gotten used to it, just like you with yours."

"Let's get to Recovery Girl," he said, but didn't move immediately. Bakugo stood there, studying her face like he was trying to memorize it, and Uraraka felt herself blush.

But she didn't look away.

"Kissing isn't gonna stop the bleeding, get a move on, you two." Empath's voice broke them out of it, and Uraraka blushed deeper, stepping around the small woman to make her way back up to the main school building, Bakugo hot on her heels.

They walked in silence for a moment, and Uraraka tried to shake herself out it, fidgeting with her fingers and chewing on her lip.

So….maybe she had a crush on Bakugo.

And _maybe_ it didn't make her weaker, like she'd thought.

Maybe feeling like a mountain made her _want_ be strong and sturdy and ready to face any challenge that came her way. Maybe having faith in herself was only amplified by the faith he had in her. Maybe she didn't _need_ his confidence in her, but it didn't hurt either.

And maybe she was a masochist because even though she _knew_ she couldn't act on those feelings, she said, "Was it true?" Her voice came out in a whisper, like she didn't really want him to hear her but she wanted to say it anyway. "When you said...that you didn't feel anything?"

She risked a glance at him to see something hurt and vulnerable flash across his face before it hardened again. He continued to work his jaw, hands clenching before he shoved them into his pockets. Finally, he looked at her, the red of his eyes bright, dancing like an open flame.

His voice came out quiet, too—maybe he didn't want to know. "Would it _matter_ if it wasn't true?"

 _Yes_.

"I...I guess not."

"Then leave it."

It wasn't an answer. But his avoidance of giving one _was_.

And damn it all, the ache of it echoed through her like a reckoning.

But she'd made a choice and they both had to live with it, so she blinked back tears and nodded. "O-okay."

 _And yet_...a small kernel of hope still burned inside her, a flame that she simply wasn't willing to put out. There was something so easy and inherent and instinctual about this...this _thing_ between them that she found she couldn't, _wouldn't_ , give up on it. She didn't know what was still in store for either of them, or what would happen with Naegi, but she had _time_. They had time.

And she wouldn't let go of something that felt so _right_ , so natural, so _important_.

So….like breathing.

(Bakugo)

Walking beside her, even though she's asked _that_ question and given him _that_ answer, Bakugo couldn't find it in him to be discouraged.

He knew he couldn't _win_ her. He knew that the Pretty Fucker, or Deku, or anyone else couldn't _win_ her. They could each only offer up their barest selves and leave it to Uraraka to decide which, if any, was worthy.

But if there was one thing he _could_ do, it was fight.

And, in spite of everything, the way she was looking at him certainly _felt_ a bit like winning.


	18. Your Mess is Mine

We have more art! Tumblr user miqitten did TWO different pictures of Naegi (one of him alone and one of him with her bnha oc salem) and tumblr user lauabaloni did a BEAUTIFUL Bakugo. Go check them out and show them tons of love! Per usual, you can find me on tumblr at tharroswrites, and from there you can follow a link to the Kacchako Discord server if you're interested! Both of the WONDERFUL artists listed above hang out there, as well as tons of other Kacchako writers and artists. Come have fun!

As always, THANK YOU TIMES A MILLION to everyone who favorites, follows, and reviews! Your feedback is everything!

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Chapter Eighteen: Your Mess is Mine

(Shigaraki)

"Tomuraaaa," Toga whined, hanging off his arm as he soon as he entered the tap room. "When do we get to start?"

He shook her off, taking a place at the bar. Dabi stood behind it, mixing a drink for himself now that Kurogiri was gone, and glanced up with a look on his face that said he was curious too.

"When G.C. confirms what we need to know."

"But I wanna cut some people up," Toga pouted, slumping down onto the stool beside his and digging her knife into the wooden counter. "Do you know when they're gonna be able to confirm?"

"Soon. But we can't move until after Bakugo retakes the provisional license exam."

"So next week at the earliest," said Dabi, sliding a drink to Shigaraki and taking a sip from his own. "Even if they confirm today."

"Boo. I _hate_ waiting."

"It will be worth it," Shigaraki assured her. "We don't want to be too hasty and risk him not coming."

"I _suppose_. Can I see it again? Please?"

Shigaraki sighed, willing to indulge Toga in this small thing if it would help her be patient a little while longer. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the small vial of blood that he'd taken from her after he'd caught her tasting it.

"Look but don't open," he said, handing it to her.

She giggled, pressing the glass to her nose as if she could smell the coppery scent through the stopper. "Mmmm."

"I know you hate being cooped up here," Shigaraki said. "But just a little while longer. You're too crucial to the plan to let anything happen to you."

Toga swirled the vial in front of her eyes, not looking away from it as she said, "I know. You can count on me, Tomura."

(Bakugo)

The golden light of early afternoon filtered through the windows of the infirmary, casting the long room in a peaceful sort of haze in direct contrast to the chaos it had been in for the past hour. It was _packed_ with remedial students, all of them injured in one way or another from fighting with each other's Quirks. Most were asleep, regaining stamina after Recovery Girl's rapid healing, and Bakugo was grateful for the quiet at last.

He sat at the foot of Kirishima's bed, in better shape than most of them, though still nauseous enough to make his head spin. Buzzbrain and Alien were talking softly, sitting cross-legged on the next bed over, but Bakugo ignored them and swallowed down the bile in the back of his throat. He needed Recovery Girl to come back and let him _leave._

She'd given both him and Uraraka a hell of a talking too when they'd arrived at her office after the Quirk swap test. They'd pushed the new Quirks too hard too fast, and their bodies hadn't been able to adjust. Uraraka should never have used such a big blast—she could have permanently damaged her shoulders and arms in the recoil. Bakugo winced at the thought of what he'd done to himself when he'd tried to use the deadfall alone, and he knew they were _lucky_ something like that or worse hadn't happened to Uraraka.

" _And you," Recovery Girl had scolded him after she'd examined them both. "You've severely burned your throat holding everything down, you idiot! You knew her Quirk caused vomiting and I'm shocked you tried to hold it all in."_

His throat was still raw and she'd instructed him to speak as little as possible for the rest of the night.

"I guess we got a little cocky, huh?"

Bakugo turned to Uraraka, stirring awake on the next bed over. She was wrapped in white bandages from shoulders to fingertips and her hair was a wild array around her head, sticking to her face with dried blood and old sweat. He was fairly certain he didn't look much better.

"What do you mean?" he rasped.

"We just assumed we'd be okay," she said. "We didn't really think through the consequences of what we could've done to ourselves."

She wasn't wrong. They'd had so many successes recently that perhaps they'd let them get to their heads.

"I should've warned you about the kickback."

Uraraka smiled and rolled her eyes. "I know about the kickback, dummy. What do you think you need me for in things like the deadfall? I should've gone for a smaller blast. We could've come up with a more... _elegant_ plan."

"Tch. The plan was fine. It was our execution that was sloppy."

"Well _duh_ , we were working with brand new Quirks! What do you expect?"

"We should've done better. We _did_ get cocky. We assumed we would be able to handle each other's Quirks as easily as we handle our own."

"I think that was the point," said Uraraka softly. "Or part of the point, at least. Seeing that it's not as easy as other people make it look."

"Tch."

They were silent for a long moment, the words that had passed between them after the test hanging in the air like the lavender scent that clung to her hair.

" _Was it true? When you said that you didn't feel anything?"_

" _Would it matter if it wasn't true?"_

He had been _so close_ to admitting it to her, but she had to work through her own shit before he would be willing to fully put himself out there. He had to know that he wasn't shoving his heart into her hands just for her to toss it back.

And even though her " _I guess not"_ still flashed uncertainly in her eyes, she was still looking at him with a bit of that _something_ that gave him hope.

"Bakugo...I—"

The door banged open then, and Uniform appeared with Froggy and Deku on her heels, the latter two looking concerned as the former burst into the room.

"Uraraka!" Uniform sang, her clothes dancing over to Uraraka's bed. She had something in her hand that she was waving around in the air, but Bakugo looked away, studying the wall and trying not to wonder what Uraraka had been about to say.

"Hey," Uraraka said weakly, and Bakugo didn't have to look to know that she had plastered a smile on her face for her friends' sake.

" _SugarPop_ just came in!" Uniform said. "Well, I guess it's been in but it was sitting in Aizawa's office with all the other mail he had to make sure was safe. I was actually waiting on a letter and went to ask if I could have it and he just gave me all the mail. Sorry if I shouldn't have opened it, but I couldn't resist! Your spread is _gorgeous_ oh my god, you two are so in love I can hardly stand it!"

For half a heartbeat, Bakugo entertained the ridiculous notion that Uniform was talking about himself in Uraraka. But of course, he knew better.

The Pretty Fucker.

The reason that all this stupid shit was even more complicated than it needed to be.

"O-oh! That's, um, great!" Uraraka said, and Bakugo heard the way her voice sounded so off. If her friends didn't notice it, she needed some new ones.

But _that_ wasn't Bakugo's fight, and it wasn't his place to tell Uraraka what to do with her friends, so he turned away from the group and pretended to listen to Alien and Buzzbrain instead.

(Uraraka)

 _No, no, no, no, no._

Not here, not now. This was _not_ how she wanted to find out what they'd published in that stupid magazine.

Not in front of everyone, and _especially_ not in front of Bakugo.

 _Would it matter if it wasn't true?_ He'd asked. Would it matter if he felt something for her?

 _YES_ , she wanted to scream, and that alone terrified her.

Yes it would matter, but what could she do about it? Naegi aside, was she even brave enough to act? Would Bakugo actually even _want_ to act on his maybe-feelings if given the chance? Or would he want to push those feelings down and focus only on hero work? That was what she had done with Deku, and if _she_ could muster that resolve, Bakugo Katsuki most definitely could.

She was a mess. _This_ was a mess.

But there was nothing for it but to keep going, so she sat up, wincing at the ache in her shoulders, and clumsily took the magazine out of Hagakure's hands with her bandaged fingers.

"A flower that bloomed in his desert," Hagakure gushed before Uraraka had even found the page. The invisible girl flopped onto her back at the foot of Uraraka's bed and sighed wistfully. "Can you think of anything more romantic than that? I wish a boy would say something like that about _me_."

Oh gods.

Oh _gods._

Hagakure had a thing for Bakugo.

And she was throwing not-so-subtle hints about her availability.

Uraraka wanted to laugh and vomit at the same time. The thought of _Bakugo_ saying some cliche romantic line to _anyone_ was something even she would pay money to see, but she couldn't help the coiling envy in her gut. She couldn't help the voice in her head that said, _Hagakure doesn't know Bakugo the way you do, if she thinks he would ever say something like that._

She couldn't help the thought of being _better_ for Bakugo than Hagakure because she saw Bakugo more clearly. She couldn't help the thought that " _Have some faith in your damn self"_ was likely as romantic as Bakugo was ever going to get, and she _liked_ that about him. She liked that he'd said it to her and not to Hagakure.

Uraraka wanted to punch herself in the face.

She _hated_ everything about that train of thought. She _hated_ that it came to her so quickly. She hated that her first thought was not to wish the best for her friend, but to belittle her and let that horrible jealousy turn her heart so ugly.

There was no malice in what Hagakure wanted—she wasn't trying to take anything from Uraraka or hurt her in any way. Hagakure just wanted someone to care about her in the way that she presumed Naegi cared about Uraraka, and even if her idea of romance seemed a little flat, that didn't give Uraraka the right to think she was better than her.

Besides, she'd picked Naegi. She'd made a choice that she couldn't go back on right now, at least not before she had a good long conversation with her 'boyfriend.'

Bakugo deserved a choice too, and if Hagakure pursued him and he decided he wanted that, Uraraka should try to be happy for them. And if he chose to wait for Uraraka (and actually wanted to act on these feelings once they sorted through all this mess), then she would know he really wanted this.

And Hagakure deserved a friend that wanted nothing but happiness for her, and Uraraka was ashamed that she couldn't completely swallow the burning envy that bubbled inside her.

"Urarakaaaa, you in there?"

She shook herself from her thoughts to see Hagakure's clothes kneeling in front of her. Tsuyu had taken a tentative seat on the edge of her bed, and Deku was standing behind the girls like he knew he needed to be there but wasn't really sure what to do.

A smile that wasn't entirely forced spread across Uraraka's face.

"If it's not a good time, we can go," Deku said, rubbing the back of his neck and looking at the other students still asleep in the beds around them.

"No, it's fine," Uraraka said softly, offering a more genuine smile to him for his thoughtfulness. Hagakure was excited for her because she thought that Uraraka was so happy with Naegi, and Uraraka should be thankful she had such good friends. "I'm just a little spacey right now, sorry."

"Tch," Bakugo muttered from his place at the foot of Kirishima's bed, and Uraraka's eyes met his for the first time since the others had entered the room.

Unspoken words were trapped in the red of his eyes, so many that Uraraka couldn't pick any of them out. There was such a charge in the air between them— _would it matter?_ —and Uraraka suddenly wanted nothing more than to be alone with him to _talk_. To really talk. If he would let her.

But she was afraid of what she would say, afraid of saying too much. Or not enough. Or all the wrong things and none of the right ones.

She was afraid of _him_ not feeling enough.

She was afraid of feeling too much and ruining everything her parents had worked for because of some selfish dream.

 _Living your whole life for someone else isn't really living._

Would her parents think the same thing if they knew the situation? They wanted what was best for her, surely, but them having a good job _was_ best for her. Feelings could be pushed aside. Debt could not.

Uraraka tore her eyes away from Bakugo's, her mind spinning.

Pushing everything down and staying with Naegi would be easier than all this... _risk_ that came with Bakugo.

And yet.

She looked down at the magazine, almost startled by her own grinning face on the page. It was a good picture, the two of them smiling at each other like there was nothing else in the world, but it made Uraraka's stomach drop out in a way that was not at all pleasant.

And of course, each of them had a quote cut out and placed beside them. His, Hagakure had already brought up: " _She's like a flower that's blossomed in the desert of my life."_ Uraraka involuntarily wrinkled her nose before dragging her eyes to the words beside her own cheek. Her heart did a full stop at the sight.

" _We could be in love, I think."_

"Ochako?" asked Tsuyu, her voice sounding far away. "Are you okay?"

Uraraka met Tsuyu's eye then, and her friend gave her a look that reminded of the conversation they'd had after she'd come back from that trip to the forest. " _You can lie to me, if you want. But don't lie to yourself, hun. I know you have your reasons for being with Naegi, but just...be sure that you're doing what is best for you."_

Tsuyu was a good friend, and Uraraka knew that she would understand why she had to put on a brave face. Tsuyu would understand what Uraraka was doing for her parents and why she couldn't admit how _fake_ everything was just yet.

So she forced herself to find her voice and worked her face into a smile. "Fine, yeah…" she swallowed hard and smiled up at them. "Just tired is all. This is….it's a good picture, huh?"

"It…" Deku started, stepping up to her side at last and placing his hand on top of hers. "Yeah...it is."

He met her eyes and she could tell he _knew_. Deku wanted to be the hero that saved everyone with a smile, and he knew a fake one when he saw it.

A light pressure on her bandaged palm and a small upward tilt of his mouth were more comforting than his words, and she squeezed his hand back as best she could.

He wouldn't ask, not until she was ready to talk, but he was giving her a look that said "I'm here when you need me" and he squeezed her hand a final time before turning, with a strange sense of purpose, toward Bakugo.

"Could I…." Deku gulped under Bakugo's gaze, but when the blonde made no move to stop him from speaking, he continued, "Could I talk to you outside?"

Bakugo's eyebrows shot upward, and Uraraka thought she probably looked even more surprised than he did. Tsuyu had her lips pressed together like she knew something and Hagakure propped herself up on her elbows to (presumably) watch the interaction.

Bakugo's lips pulled automatically into a frown—that signature look of irritation and uncertainty that blinked into his eyes whenever his childhood friend spoke to him. He thought over it for a moment, the wheels in his head turning and working a muscle in his jaw. Tension was taut in the air around them, and Uraraka realized she was holding her breath as she waited for him to respond.

"Tch." The reply was rather anti-climatic. "Whatever."

The taller boy stood slowly, shoving his hands in his pockets and stalking past Deku to leave the room first. After the door swung shut behind him, Uraraka looked at Deku, searching his face for some answer to what exactly he was doing.

But Deku just gave her a smile like the one she'd given him—one that said things might not be all right, but it didn't hurt to pretend. "Something I need to do. Don't worry about it."

"Be careful, Izuku," said Tsuyu. "When you and Bakugo speak, things tend to...break."

Deku turned his smile toward her, a hand going to the back of his neck. "I'll be okay. Kacchan is...getting better. And I think...I think we're starting to understand each other a bit more than we used to."

Heading toward the door, he didn't look so much like the hero trying to step into All Might's shoes. No, trailing after Bakugo, Deku looked like a kid who'd lost a friend and was trying to find him again.

It was brave of him, Uraraka thought, and a little sad. And she _hoped_ that someday Bakugo could appreciate that quality in Deku—that never giving up on anyone.

"They'll be okay," Uraraka said to Tsuyu, who still looked nervous. "Deku is right about Bakugo—he's getting better. He's _trying_. Do you know what Deku wants with him?"

Tsuyu frowned and shook her head, and the girls were quiet for a moment, the only other sound in the room that of the students sleeping around them.

"Bakugo…" Hagakure began after a long moment. Her voice was soft and laced with something like pain. "He...he likes you, Uraraka."

Uraraka winced. "I have Naegi…"

"That doesn't stop Bakugo from feeling something."

"I don't…" Uraraka started, pressing the heels of her bandaged palms into her eyes. _Gods_ , she was tired. And she _hated_ the way the bubbling envy still simmered inside her at the thought of telling Hagakure to go for it with Bakugo. She hated that she couldn't will it away so easily. "I don't know what to say."

"It's not _your_ fault," said Hagakure, sitting up fully and pulling her stocking-clad knees up to her chest. "You're...cute and fun and strong and _tons_ of guys in the class are into you. I've even heard some of the Class B guys talking about you. But me…"

 _That_ was news to Uraraka, but she wasn't really in the mood to focus on herself. She breathed out hard through her nose and sat up a little straighter, focusing her attention on Hagakure instead of trying to strain her ears to hear what the boys were discussing outside.

Uraraka reached out and put her hand on the other girl's back, exchanging a glance with Tsuyu, who tended to be better with knowing what to say. But this was Uraraka's mess to deal with, so she cleared her throat and said, "Hagakure...you deserve _so much more_ than someone who's going to overlook you. You deserve someone who _sees_ you...even though, you know, they...er...can't...You want someone who doesn't need to see your face to...to see your heart."

Hagakure sighed. "It's a nice thought, Uraraka. I...I had to come to terms with what I am a long time ago. I knew...I knew that I would never be the most popular. I would never be the pretty girl that people fawned over. But I still wanted to be a hero. My parents thought I was crazy. _I_ thought I was crazy there for a while."

"You're not—"

"But here I am, you know? And I'm gonna make the most of it. I'm not here for boys. It's just...nice to entertain the idea sometimes." The shoulders of her shirt moved up and down in a shrug. "I'll just have to live vicariously through you, I suppose."

Though her arms nearly gave out from the pain and the effort, Uraraka dragged Hagakure into a hug, burying her face in the invisible girl's hair and squeezing her tight. Tsuyu gave her a small smile and moved to put her own hand on Hagakure's back.

"Don't live through me, hun," Uraraka said, her heart aching at the thought of someone being jealous of _her—_ of her own empty relationship. Of the sacrifices she was making for her parents. Of the bleeding, empty hollow in her heart that had sat gaping open since Nighteye's death. Of her own desperate desire to always want to be more than she was, to save more people, and fight harder and _do_ more than she could—to be a hero because she _wanted_ it, not because her family needed it. Of the way she both loved and hated herself for wanting that.

"I know, but..."

"You've got to be your own hero, you know?" Uraraka said quietly.

"Easier said than done."

"Good thing we're in school to learn to be heroes then, huh?" asked Tsuyu.

Hagakure gave a small, watery chuckle, and Mina appeared beside them, too, curling herself into the hug like it was the most natural thing in the world.

And maybe it was.

(Naegi)

He spun aimlessly around in the chair in his office, phone in one hand and _SugarPop_ in the other.

Uraraka still hadn't given him an answer.

Which, if he was being honest with himself, was an answer in its own right.

Hamuro's heels clicked through the doorway, and he stopped the rotation of his chair to face her. His agent pursed her lips and put her hands on her hips at the sight of him.

"What are you doing, N? Don't tell me you're _still_ waiting for her to want you."

There was no point in lying to her, not about this, so he shrugged. "Is that so wrong?"

"It's _pointless_ ," she said, coming to put her hand on his shoulder and he _knew_ she was using her Quirk on him—reading his deepest desires and knowing what he wanted. "You weren't supposed to like her. The two of you are using each other. You knew this. You chose her knowing this."

Naegi ran a hand through his hair and looked down at the picture from the magazine spread. Uraraka was just so _bright_ and kind and different from the people he surrounded himself with.

"It's not even that you want _her_ , specifically, N," Hamuro said. And she would know. She tapped the magazine. "You just want someone to look at you like that without our help. You want someone that doesn't look at you like that because of your fame or your money or your Quirk, but that looks at you like that because they genuinely like _you_. I see your heart, N. I know what you want."

Not that anyone had ever really cared about what he wanted.

"I—"

"You can't have everything," she cut him off, taking the magazine from him. "You don't get fame and fortune _and_ simple joy. The world doesn't work like that."

"It doesn't hurt to _hope_."

"Yes it does. You need to get your head out of the clouds and focus on your job. Stop waiting around like a fool for a girl to love you. If you want her, use your Quirk on her or stop complaining. If you want someone else, we'll find someone else. But quit _sulking_ when you can do something about it."

They'd had this conversation before and there was no way to explain to her that it didn't _mean_ anything if he used his Quirk on Uraraka. It lost all value. But that being said, he knew Hamuro had a point too. He was who he was and there was no coming back from that. There was no changing it. People were going to view him through the lens of his fame and he had to accept that fact.

And maybe just stop looking for a meaning altogether.

(Deku)

It was a painfully familiar sight—Kacchan's back. Trailing behind him out of the infirmary, Deku was reminded of the last time they had spoken, really _spoken_ , one on one.

" _It's as if this whole time, you were looking down at me with disdain and truly aiming to surpass me because you knew you could!"_

It hadn't been the best way, perhaps, for aspiring heroes to express their feelings—that fight could've ended very, very poorly, but since then, Kacchan had mostly...stayed away from him. They had actually let everything out, and Deku had begun to see where Kacchan was coming from. He was beginning to understand just how much it shook Bakugo to know that All Might had chosen _Deku_ , who had never been anything but a stepping stone and a pebble in the path toward Bakugo's greatness.

He was beginning to think that Kacchan had looked back on everything much differently than Deku did.

They had never been friends. Not really. No matter how much Deku had looked up to Kacchan in their childhood, no matter how much Kacchan _still_ was the first image that came to mind when Deku thought about victory, they hadn't been friends.

Bakugo had never really _had_ friends. Not before coming to U.A.

He had had underlings, worshipers, people to tag along behind him and make him look better because that were _less._ But never friends.

It wasn't until U.A., where he found people who were just as strong and smart and dauntless as he was, that he began to accept that he wasn't alone atop the pedestal.

And as someone who had been dragging himself up that pedestal behind Kacchan for _years_ , Deku was glad to know that none of them were alone.

It didn't excuse the way Kacchan had treated him, and Deku was still trying to wrap his head around the conflicting desires to hold Kacchan accountable for the abuse and to forgive him and try to be actual friends.

Wanting nothing more than to be his friend throughout their youth made it difficult to _not_ choose the path that would reconcile them sooner rather than later, but Kacchan...Deku didn't think he was ready for that. Kacchan needed to accept everything that he'd done and needed to...own it.

Needed to apologize.

Not just for Deku's sake, but for his own sake too. He was never going to be the greatest hero he could be if he was dragged down by pain from the past.

And Deku would be there to listen when Kacchan was ready to say it, but for the moment, they would hang in that strange in between place that they'd been in since they'd fought—a place where they weren't enemies or friends and everything hurt a bit when they were together.

But _this_ , being here right now, wasn't about that.

Bakugo didn't even bother to ask what Deku wanted, just stopped farther down the hallway and turned, his hands still in his pockets as he faced Deku with a look that prompted him onward.

And now that he was here, Deku wasn't really sure how to start.

"I…."

"Spit it out already. The old hag's gonna notice I'm gone." His voice was hoarse, but the bite to it wasn't so strong.

"I just….thank you."

Bakugo's shoulders relaxed and his eyes widened in surprise for a brief moment, but then his eyebrows pulled downward and he frowned. "The hell for?"

Deku took a steadying breath. He _needed_ to do this. "For Uraraka—for treating her the way you do. She's been...sort of down recently, but when she's been with you it's like she just... _shines_."

"Tch."

"I'm serious. You—you're good for her. You'd brought out so much strength in her without ever meaning to. And I know we have our differences, but she's important to me, and I can tell that she's important to you too, even if you'll never admit it. I just wanted to tell you…"

"Tell me _what?_ " There was a hint of desperation in his voice. A shadow of the pain that had come out in their fight. _Why did I become the reason for All Might's end?_

"Don't push her away."

That startled the taller boy. Deku could see it in the subtle way his features shifted toward something almost vulnerable, but it was gone almost as soon as it appeared.

"Don't tell me what to do, _Deku_." He still spat the name like it was poison in his tongue.

Deku winced, but clenched his hands into fists. Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe Kacchan would only ever react negatively to any sort of help Deku tried to offer. But since that fight, he _understood_ a bit more.

So he strengthened his resolve instead of backing down. "I'm not telling you this because I'm looking down on you, Kacchan."

Bakugo's eyes narrowed, but he stayed still and silent, waiting to hear the rest of what Deku had to say.

And Deku's heart warmed just slightly.

"You are... _so much_ of what I strive to be, Kacchan. And I have _never_ looked down on you for anything—only ever up at you. And I just...I see you better since...what happened at Ground Beta. And I know that you're never going to forgive yourself for what happened to All Might."

"Shut up—"

" _Just listen to me!_ Please." Deku was breathing hard, his arms coming up like an instinct to guard his center should Bakugo lunge.

But Bakugo didn't move. He stood there, looking at Deku like maybe they _were_ actually seeing each other plainly. Like maybe...maybe it wouldn't be _so_ bad if Deku understood some small part of him. At least when it came to this, to All Might and everything that happened between them because of their hero.

Deku took another breath, forcing his arms down to his sides. "I _know_ that what happened to All Might still haunts you. The same way that the League taking you haunts me, and I—"

"I didn't need you to—"

"And All Might didn't need you!"

Hot tears burned in Deku's eyes as he remembered the sight of his idol staring down All for One. His hands shook and there was this deep sense of rage and regret that came with what happened to All Might, but there was hope, too. And if All Might had faith in weak, Quirkless Deku, then Deku could still have hope in Bakugo.

"There was _nothing_ you could have done to stop this eventuality. This was _always_ going to happen. But that doesn't mean that the guilt you feel is invalid or wrong. You didn't need me either. You didn't _need_ me to come save you, you think I don't know that?" _You think I don't know that you never needed me?_

Bakugo opened his mouth, but seemed unable to form the words he wanted to say.

"I felt guilty too!" Deku continued, unable to stop himself now that he'd started. It wasn't even about Uraraka anymore. "I felt _guilty_ that I couldn't stop you from being taken in the first place and that's just how it is, Kacchan! It doesn't mean that I thought you couldn't do enough. It just means that I thought _I_ could have done more so I _get it_. I understand what you feel about All Might."

Deku ran his hands down his face. This was getting very far off track from what he had originally planned to say. But there was just _so much_. There was so much history and pain and tension between them that it was nearly impossible for it not to come out like this—like a dam kept shut so long it had to burst.

"I get it," Deku said again, willing Kacchan to understand that they had so much more in common than he thought. "But I know that we aren't...we're not good for each other. We push each other to be stronger but we tear each other down in ways that we don't always mean to and I'm _sorry_ for ever making you think that I looked down on you. I'm _sorry_ that All Might choosing me hurt you the way it did. I'm sorry things are so messy between us."

He prayed that Bakugo wouldn't take the apology for pity. Prayed he wouldn't think that Deku was only saying it because he thought Bakugo wanted to hear it. He didn't seem to be able to properly respond, so Deku kept going for both of them.

"But... I wanted to tell you that I'm not the only one who understands how you feel. Uraraka—she gets it too. She feels that same guilt over Nighteye. And she...she seems to be one of the only other people around here willing to take the time to look past all your….all your _bullshit_ and see that you're hurting in the same ways the rest of us are."

This wasn't the way it was supposed to be. They were supposed to become heroes who could save everyone with a smile, but instead they were becoming these battered, aching _wrecks_ that didn't want to need each other but couldn't walk away.

A beat passed in silence and then, quietly, "You're good for her, Kacchan. You build her up and make her strong just by treating her with the respect that you do. You make _me_ feel guilty for not showing her that same level of respect. But you need to see that she's good for _you_ too. And it wouldn't hurt to have someone you could actually open up to."

He _needed_ Bakugo to accept Uraraka's friendship. He needed them to be able to help each other grow in ways that Deku never could. He cared for them both so much, and he didn't want Bakugo's pride to get in the way of their potential to help each other get through.

It surprised him then, when Bakugo turned his head away and said, "I know."

"O-oh."

"Tch," Bakugo scoffed. He stalked back toward Deku, but for once, there was nothing menacing in his step and Deku didn't flinch away when he got close.

Bakugo stopped beside him, looking at him out of the corner of his eye as he said, "And you're not the one that should be saying sorry."

He kept walking, heading back toward Recovery Girl's office, but Deku remained in the hallway for a moment, a hestitant smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.

It wasn't an apology.

But it was another step in the right direction.

(Bakugo)

He didn't go back to the infirmary.

Recovery Girl could yell at him all she wanted but after that conversation with Deku, he just wanted to be alone.

Walking slowly back toward the dorms, Bakugo groaned as he tried to work through everything that had happened in such a sort span of time.

Stupid Deku. Stupid Uraraka. Stupid _All Might_.

Stupid heart.

He hadn't asked for this, for any of it. Growing up, he'd wanted to be the best hero—the hero who always won no matter the odds. The hero that relied on no one and nothing and only cared about the surest way to victory.

He never counted on being the one who needed saving. He never counted on Quirkless kids rising to the top or padded fingers that could reach inside him and tie his stomach in knots. He never counted on All Might giving up everything to save him.

Bakugo had never counted on the _weight_ that came with heroism.

He never thought about having someone with whom to share the burden.

" _You need to see that she's good for you too."_

Even Deku could see it.

Lost in thought, Bakugo didn't notice someone walking beside him until she cleared her throat.

"Hey, Bakugo."

"What do you want, Uniform?" he said, groaning as he turned to see Alien, Buzzbrain, and Froggy walking a few paces behind them. There was no such thing as _alone_ here.

"Hagakure," she said off-handedly. "And...nothing, I suppose. I—we were just heading back to the dorms too."

He was too tired to bother telling her to walk somewhere else.

"You like her, huh? Uraraka?"

Suddenly every fucking person in the school seemed to have him figured out and he _hated_ it. "Who gives a shit?"

"It must hurt, huh? Seeing her so in love with Naegi. I just...I know the feeling."

"I don't get _hurt_ ," he said, shoving his hands further into his pockets and picking up his pace. "And I never asked you."

He hadn't seen what that magazine had said, but he wanted to believe that Uniform just had the wrong sense of things between Uraraka and the Pretty Fucker.

She moved her shoulders in a way that made it look like she was clasping her hands behind her back as she walked. "Do you love her?"

His head was beginning to throb. "Tch. Stop asking bullshit questions and piss off already. I'm not having a conversation about _feelings_."

"You didn't deny it," she said softly.

Bakugo rounded on her, feeling the sweat in his palms and it was _itching_ for a fight. But he wasn't going to stand here and take it out on her. "Stop acting like you _know_ me. Everyone needs to get off my fucking case and quit thinking they know anything about me. I'm here to be a godsdamned hero and I'm not wasting my time on stupid shit like this right now."

"Oh. O-okay. I didn't...I wasn't…"

"Just stay out of it."

"Sorry."

He left her standing there and stomped to the dorms, running his hands through his hair and taking a deep breath before pushing through the doors.

It was convoluted and stupid and confusing, and Bakugo wanted nothing more than to tell Uraraka to dump the Pretty Fucker and move on with her life. But it was her choice. It had to be her choice.

And Deku. _Gods_.

The little shit had _apologized._ To _him_. When it was Bakugo who had been wrong. When it was _Bakugo_ who had spent so long looking down on everyone else that he'd just _assumed_ that Deku had been doing the same thing. He'd just assumed that everyone saw the world through the same lens he did. Assumed that wanting to save someone and looking down on them went hand in hand.

But Bakugo had been wrong.

And the longer he spent at U.A., the more time he spent with Uraraka, the more he saw just _how_ wrong he'd been. It was only in realizing that he could respect Uraraka and count on her and save her and _be saved_ by her all at the same time that he saw the way that Deku looked at him.

The way Deku had _always_ looked at him.

Not as someone that needed to be saved, but as someone to stand beside.

A rival. An ally. A teammate.

A friend.

And Bakugo couldn't take back the things he'd done. He couldn't change the way he'd treated Deku and the other neighborhood kids when they were younger. He couldn't undo the needless abuse that stemmed from his own godsdamned insecurity.

He couldn't do it all over.

But he could start again now.

He could be _better._ For all of them.

(Shigaraki)

.

.

.

.

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 _[19:13 Glass Cannon] All confirmed. The plan is a go._

* * *

Chapter title from Vance Joy's Mess is Mine.

Drop me a line and tell me what you think! Much love!


	19. Enough, Part Two

A/N: As always, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT! Seriously, your reviews/favorites/follows mean the absolute WORLD to me.

Come find me elsewhere! Tumblr: tharroswrites-tumblr-com AND the Kacchako Discord Server: discord-gg / EwBFYQX  
You guys can scream at me in those places all day long. :) (periods instead of dashes, and no spaces for the backslash for discord, obvs)

There's more art for this story on my tumblr! The AMAZING soulsborne123 is doing a COMIC for one of the scenes and I am DYING.

* * *

 **Chapter Nineteen: Enough, Part Two**

(Uraraka)

They seemed caught in a frustrating dance, spinning just outside each other's reach as the week wore on—All Might cancelled remedial lessons on Monday to give them time to prepare for their upcoming midterm exams, Bakugou was made to go to extra provisional classes to ensure that he was ready to retake that test on Saturday, Kaminari and Kirishima dragged him away to help them study on more than one occasion, and Iida was keeping a watchful eye on Uraraka and Deku's study habits.

Every time Uraraka worked up the nerve to speak to Bakugou, something got in the way.

But not this time.

It was Thursday night and they had their practical exams the next day—she should be sleeping or going over strategies with Deku, discussing what the exam could entail.

Instead, she sat on her yoga mat in the grass outside the dorms, pretending to meditate as she waited for Aizawa to bring Bakugou and Todoroki back from their provisional lessons. She wouldn't let him slip away to his room this time.

Her heart pounded and her hands shook and she chewed her lip until it hurt thinking about what she would say to him. She'd been trying to come up with the right words all week, but everything fell flat when she remembered the way his thumbs had brushed across the pads of her fingers to calm her during Empath's test.

It wasn't like she could tell him "hi, I think I like you but I can't date you because I have to keep going out with the guy that's giving my parents money. I mean—if you even _want_ to date me, of course. Which you might not! You've never exactly _said_."

Gods, even in her head she sounded stupid.

And then there was that horrible ache that thundered through her when she thought about that night in his room—when he'd almost kissed her and everything she thought she knew had tilted and changed.

She'd replayed it in her mind so many times she didn't even have to think to recall the details—

 _His eyes followed her hands as she ran the towel down her arms. The rain still pounded heavily against the balcony door, but the sound seemed far away as Uraraka sucked in a breath and came to terms with the fact that she was standing in Bakugou's room. She could feel him watching her, but it didn't feel...intrusive. If anything, there was something electric in the air between them and it made her heart beat an unfamiliar rhythm against her ribcage._

 _"What changed Nezu's mind?" Bakugou asked after a long moment. His room was cold, but the icy air against her skin felt a long way off under the heat of his gaze. "He can think whatever the fuck he wants, but he seemed pretty set on it being me, even if he never said as much."_

The fire in his eyes had nothing on the burning anger in her heart at their principal. At the thought that

Bakugou _of all people might betray them. "Uh...me...I think. I changed his mind."_

"You?" His tone was both surprised and certain—like he wasn't expecting that answer but knew it couldn't have been anything else.

She brought the towel in front of her face to hide the redness in her cheeks. Bakugou didn't like being saved by others. He didn't like thinking that he was so weak that someone else had to come to his rescue. And yet...he didn't look angry. "I...um...I told him that you couldn't be the traitor...that if you were...than I was guilty too. Because it was just so...stupid."

 _Maybe she was making up for staying behind like a coward while the others went to rescue him from the League of Villains. Maybe he didn't want a defender, but that didn't mean he didn't need one._

 _And...he wasn't looking at her like she'd done something wrong. He wasn't looking at her like she'd overstepped her bounds or offended him. Instead, he took a step toward her and it seemed more like an instinct than an intention. Her elbows brushed his chest as she pulled the towel away from her face and he was standing so close she could breathe his gunpowder scent straight into her veins._

 _More than anything, it was the look on his face—something like shock and admiration and gratitude that all tried to cover up the way the walls were cracking in his eyes._

 _It was 'have some faith in your damn self.' It was deadfalls and dislocated shoulders and trust falls out of the sky. It was_ Bakugou _, standing in front of her and breaking open even as he tried to hold himself together._

 _It was that darkness that she saw in him, the same pulsing pain that she felt when she thought of Nighteye. When she thought of the ways in which she wasn't good enough, wasn't ready to be a hero._

 _Threads that stretched between them, one after another after another, connecting her to him and him to her through all these shared experiences._

 _And people dared to think he would betray them._

 _It frustrated her. It angered her. A knife twisted in her gut for what it all must do to him._

 _She didn't know how to make it better, but she knew what she would want if the roles were reversed, so in a moment of wild courage, she rose up onto her toes and threw her arms around him._

 _Hot tears sprang to her eyes even as her heart thumped hard enough to break a bone. Cinnamon and gunpowder shrouded her in a comforting cloud as she pressed her face into his neck and breathed it in right from the source. There was something else too, something so undeniably Bakugou that she didn't have a word for it, and it made her warm and jittery in spite of the rain still clinging to her clothes._

 _And suddenly everything was pouring out of her—the pent up rage that had collected inside her as she'd spoken to Nezu on Bakugou's behalf. Words tumbled over each other in a messy string that she hoped made some semblance of sense._

 _He didn't seem to get it, so she gripped his chin between her fingers in an act of bold defiance._

 _("Stop fucking looking down," he'd said to her once on the rooftop, tilting her face to meet his stare when Nighteye's death was fresh and heavy in her heart. He needed that now—someone to help him hold his head high when the world tried to drag it downward.)_

" _What would they see?" he asked, something desperate in his voice. He clenched his hands into fists at her sides—he didn't wrap his arms around her in return, but he didn't push her away._

 _She thought for a long moment, searching his face and marveling at the way he was actually letting her in, even just a bit. So often all she saw in him were walls, but this time he wasn't trying so hard to keep them up._

 _It took her breath away._

 _She chewed on her lip and didn't miss the way his eyes flicked to the movement. It caused a pleasant flutter in her stomach._

" _You," she decided, pushing the butterflies aside because his pain was more important. "They'd see_ you, _Bakugo. And that would be enough."_

 _It certainly was for her._

 _That was the only thing she could think of that felt honest and real and true. The only words with the same weight as "have some faith in your damn self." The only words that might have the same effect on him as his had had on her._

" _W-what?" he breathed, voice breaking in a way that was so unlike the Bakugou he showed most of the time. This was the version of himself he tried to keep buried. The one filled with all the same uncertainties that plagued the rest of them. The one who had been accused of betraying the only thing he clung to, the one that had been captured by the League of Villains and watched his hero fall in order to save him._

 _And it wasn't that there were two distinctly separate sides of him. Rather, his ego and his anger fed into the insecurity, and the insecurity in turn caused him to be bigger and louder and_ more _in an attempt to hide it. He hadn't learned to balance them, but he was trying, at least a bit. She'd noticed the subtle shift ever since his fight with Deku._

 _He was trying to be good. Trying to be like All Might. But the people who were supposed to be helping him and lifting him up chose instead to shackle and suspect him, and it was sort of a miracle that he hadn't let it break him._

 _"If...if they'd actually pay attention they'd see that you as you are are enough. You're_ enough, _Bakugo. Enough to be an amazing hero. Enough to be_ good _."_

 _His eyes widened just slightly and some part of her wanted to crawl inside them, curl up in the crimson and will the words into his heart._

 _It was what he had done for her without ever realizing it._

 _She'd spent a long time feeling less than, not good enough or strong enough or smart enough. She'd pushed through it and forced a smile, but there were days where she wondered if she really was cut out for this. If she really was meant to be a hero or if she would only ever amount to sidekick or support._

 _And then, the Sports Festival. Their fight. The light in his eyes and the grin on his lips as he faced her down like she posed a challenge. Like a round-faced, pink-cheeked, soft girl could stand up to all his explosive talent. The way people consoled her after, saying he'd been too hard on her when in fact he'd lit a spark beneath her and set her bones ablaze with all the drive and desire she needed to push herself and be better._

 _She wanted to do the same for him._

 _Her hand slipped from his chin and wound in his shirt, the freshly-sealed cut twinging as the bandages rubbed against it._

 _"Please stop thinking that what you've done in the past….that your Quirk….that what other people think of you….defines what you can be." She tried to speak with all the resolve he'd ever given her, needing him to know she believed her own words with every beat of her still-pounding heart. "I know you're trying to be better with Deku. And I don't understand everything between you two, but I can see you trying. You want to make it right. You want to be a hero. And I'll say it as many times as it takes to get it through your head—you don't want to be a villain, and so you won't be."_

 _His eyes shifted and cracked and_ opened _and before either of them realized it, his hands were on her face. His fingers tangled in her hair and brushed away tears she hadn't noticed were still falling. Rough palms pressed flat against her cheeks drew her closer and Uraraka's breathing hitched as he leaned in and rested his forehead against hers._

 _And his lips were so close she could feel a whisper of their warmth against her own._

 _The next breath caught in her throat because the_ want _radiating from Bakugou was palpable. New and old all at once. Something she'd maybe seen in his eyes but never dared to think could have anything to do with her. All those times she couldn't place the expression on his face...maybe it was all some precursor to_ this _._

 _Her hands wrapped in his shirt felt like a rope to an anchor—a steady weight to balance out the fluttering of her heart and the floating sensation in her stomach. Letting go might mean getting lost at sea._

 _But…_

 _She wasn't in this only for herself, she never had been, and an image of Naegi forced its way into her mind like lightning striking a mast._

 _Pulling away took more effort than she thought it would and the breath finally came out of her in a small, strangled gasp. She didn't let go of his shirt, not completely, but she blinked back fresh tears and choked, "Bakugo, I—I_ can't. _"_

 _He tensed beneath her fingers and took a decided step backward, the fabric of his shirt slipping out of her grip and leaving her empty hands grasping at the new space between them._

" _I_ can't _." The words hurt more the second time, echoing in her ribs like an out of tune piano._

 _His eyes were all walls again and that was worse than anything he could've said._

—The thought of speaking to Bakugou—really _talking_ to him—after all _that_ seemed much more daunting.

" _I hope you learn to fucking live with it,"_ he'd said about her choice before she'd dropped his hoodie on the floor of his bedroom and ran.

Had she learned to live with it?

Honestly? No.

She was sitting there trying to figure out how to have it both ways and it wasn't right. It wasn't fair to anyone.

She flopped onto her back on the yoga mat, covering her face with her hands and hating that dull, twisting pain in the pit of her stomach—like she'd swallowed a shard of glass.

Up until now, it hadn't really been hard. She'd always wanted to be a hero and doing it for her parents wrapped all her dreams into one. But now...now it was a _choice._ A difficult one. One between two disparate pieces of her heart and she felt like parts of her were breaking away as she tried to hang on to both options.

Naegi was stability. He was happiness for her parents. He was the life they deserved and had worked so hard for. Being with Naegi meant saving the people who meant the most to her.

Bakugou was...too much. Enough. Everything she never knew she wanted or needed and all of him was crashing into her like pieces falling perfectly into place. Like his burnt edges aligned with her fraying seams and instead of falling apart they put each other back together.

And it was a colossal effort to pull away from that.

But being a hero meant being willing to pay any price. To do whatever it took to save others even if you had to force a smile just to keep yourself from breaking in the process.

But, then again...

Perhaps if she spoke to Naegi, they could work something out. She still hadn't given him an answer.

" _I...I'd very much like for this, between us, to be real,"_ he'd said to her that day after their photoshoot.

She couldn't force herself to feel something for him, he had to know that, right? It would be one thing if there was no one else, if she could give it a try because there was nothing holding her back.

But every time she even _thought_ about being something more with Naegi, it was Bakugou's rough palms on her face that settled in her mind like boulders at the base of a mountain—steady and sure and immovable. Red eyes and a careful scowl and _truth_ as biting and beautiful as a song.

Naegi would understand...wouldn't he?

Car doors slamming and footsteps on the path broke her train of thought before she could decide, and Uraraka sat up and dropped her hands from her face as Bakugou and Todoroki approached.

Todoroki nodded and lifted his hand in greeting before continuing toward the dorms, but Bakugou stopped, shoving his hands in the pockets of his uniform pants and looking at her like he was waiting for something.

He seemed calm enough, though his eyes shifted when they met hers and she was finally starting to be able to read them—nervous, wary, certain, wanting, determined.

"H-hi," she said lamely, heat rising in her cheeks as she remembered _again_ the way he'd run his thumb over the pads on her fingers during Empath's test.

He didn't move, and neither did she, still sitting cross-legged on her mat in the grass. She'd dressed warmer this time—leggings and a sweater instead of her usual tank top. This way, he couldn't get onto her about it, couldn't give her the hoodie (gods, he was wearing _that_ hoodie) again.

If he even _would_.

"Well?"

Uraraka jumped at his voice, at the edge in it.

"Well what?"

Bakugou breathed out hard through his nose and worked a muscle in his jaw. "What do you want, Uraraka?"

"I…" she fumbled for words. Surely….surely he wanted to talk about everything that had happened? Surely there was _something_ to discuss. "I wanted to talk you, about….you know. Everything."

Uraraka pushed herself to her feet, knees weak with nerves, but Bakugou deserved that much at least—for her to meet him head on in this and everything else.

He swallowed, _hesitated_ , searching her eyes like they held more answers than he wanted to find but he still _needed_ to look.

And it struck her suddenly that Bakugou didn't know any more about any of this than she did. Just because he was brave and confident and always had a plan when it came to fighting villains didn't mean that he was…. _experienced_ with...with all this emotional mess.

 _Bakugou_ was hesitating.

And maybe not because he didn't _want_ , but because he didn't know what to do.

It made her feel infinitely better and absolutely worse at the same time—she wasn't in this alone, but she couldn't expect him to take the lead or make the decisions or make this _easier_.

Then again, when had Bakugou Katsuki ever made anything easier?

"Is there…" he started, then looked away with a scowl and cleared his throat. "Is there anything to talk about?"

 _You tell me_ , she wanted to scream, wanted to ask him to give her a straight answer as to what exactly he wanted or expected out of this, but how could she demand answers from him when she didn't have many to give him in return?

Her cheeks heated and she waved her hands in the air vaguely, searching for something, _anything_ , to say. It was like they kept passing the ball back and forth but neither had a shot at the goal.

 _Have some faith in your damn self_.

"Yes," she said finally, her voice a little breathless even as she steeled her resolve. "There is."

He met her eyes again and _gods_ if she could bottle that look, if she could always remind herself that as hard as it was for her to admit that there was _something_ , it was just as hard for Bakugou to ask if there was anything in the first place.

"Yes," she said again, rubbing her thumbs across the pads on her other fingers. Her breathing was erratic and her heart was banging in her chest and she kind of wanted to vomit or float away or both. But Bakugou was trust and resolve and _fight_ and she could be all those things in return. She could be all those things so he didn't have to be—or, at least so he didn't have to be all those things alone. "There's...a lot to talk about...I think."

Bakugou studied her face, and even though her blush deepened, Uraraka didn't feel the desire to shrink beneath his gaze.

Instead, she wanted to meet the challenge she found there. She wanted to be mountain, not a flower.

"Then—"

The jingle of an incoming call to her cellphone blared through the night air, cutting off whatever he was about to say.

Uraraka deflated as his eyes hardened. Knowing it could be any number of people, about any number of things, she couldn't just ignore it, so she looked away from Bakugou and dug through her bag for the offending object, fishing it out as the ringing seemed to grow more insistent.

 _[Incoming Call: Naegi Nobusuke]_

She might have groaned out loud, though she couldn't be sure. It was lost in Bakugou's angry "Tch."

"I don't have to…" she started to say, but she _did_. She needed to answer it. She needed to talk to Naegi before she talked to Bakugou, needed to do this _right_ and cause the least pain she could. She needed to figure out where Naegi stood if she were to tell him no.

"Answer it, Roundface," Bakugou said, eyes narrowed as he worked that muscle in his jaw again.

They stood across from each other, the twilight breeze teasing their hair and blowing through their clothes and it was _so_ like that night he'd shoved his hoodie into her arms. And so like that night when she'd felt like such a failure and he'd built her up with his own brand of confidence.

They stood across from each other, more than a meter between them, and Uraraka thought perhaps neither of them had a good answer, neither of them knew what to do.

They stood across from each other, a bit like their first real encounter at the Sports Festival, and Uraraka wondered how things had managed to become so complicated since then. How his simple "The real fight starts now, Uraraka!" had turned into _this_.

The phone stopped ringing.

Bakugou looked at her hand, still clinging loosely to the silent device, and then back up at her face, a question heavy in the set of his jaw and the tug of his eyebrows.

Mountains didn't shrink away from storms. They didn't bow in the face of uncertainty.

And mountains….they didn't live their entire lives for someone else.

"Do you really think..." Uraraka began softly, chewing on her lip and forcing herself to keep her chin up. "Do you really think my parents would…. _want_ me to….to…." She swallowed, willing courage into her bones and her heart and her tongue. Her cheeks were warm, and a shaking feeling buzzed through her veins like a drug. It was terrifying. It was _thrilling_. It was too important to give up or walk away from. "Do you think they'd want me to risk their jobs for something that I...that _I_ want?"

 _Gods_ it sounded selfish. But maybe…maybe the line between taking care of people and giving _too_ much had grown blurry over the years. Maybe her desire to take care of her parents had caused her to forget that they could take care of themselves, too.

And it didn't matter that Bakugou had never actually _said_ that he wanted it too. Uraraka was going to be a hero, damn it, and she could be brave enough to put herself out there first.

So she left the question hanging in the air like debris above a battle stage.

(Bakugou)

 _Something that I want._

Something she wanted that would be a risk to her parents' jobs. Something that would involve ditching the Pretty Fucker.

Bakugou.

 _Him_.

Holy shit.

Holy _shit._

Stars were bursting to life in the inky sky above them—dancing pinpricks of light in her eyes that remained perfectly undimmed in their imitation.

Her face was red even in the dark, but she held her ground across from him, standing up to him and staring him down and _daring_ him to meet her half-way. To bring it on, to knock her out of the ring. To fight her and fight _beside_ her and match her blow for blow.

 _We're a team_ , she'd said before.

But were they ready for _this_?

He'd spent so long trying to convince himself that he didn't want her that way, that there were bigger things that deserved his full attention.

And then she'd come to his room while he was on house arrest—dripping rain water and still bloody from their fight with the League. She'd wrapped her fingers in the front of his shirt and tilted his world without using her Quirk—she'd made herself a part of his dream to become number one. She'd shown him that wanting both didn't lessen either.

And gods if it hadn't hurt like a solo deadfall when she'd pulled away. When he'd _almost_ kissed her and she'd run.

But now...now the roles were reversed. Now she was standing in front of him offering up more than either of them had ever been willing to say aloud.

And he was fucking _terrified_.

He'd been training to be a hero since he'd first seen All Might on tv as a kid. He _hadn't_ been training for, or ever expecting to have to think about, anything else—especially not things like the godsdamned _mountain_ of a girl standing across from him.

He didn't know how to be...something _more_ with anyone. He didn't know anything beyond the desperate ache in his chest in the face of her. He didn't have a plan or a strategy or that practiced fighting instinct to rely on. He had nothing but himself to give.

 _You're enough._ Her voice in his mind like an anthem.

 _Tch, get out of my head, Roundface._

But she wouldn't.

Bakugou had always been the type to face challenges and overcome them, to figure out a solution and give whatever it took to make it happen.

But he'd never really had so much as a friend, let alone someone who was _more_ than that. He'd never been good at personal things, at opening up or sharing his insecurities or helping someone else bear their burdens.

And more than anything, he feared he'd mess it up.

He feared he wouldn't have that innate talent. He wouldn't even be a contender, let alone be the _best_ for her. And failure wasn't something Bakugou was any good at stomaching.

Uraraka was...so many things. Not only was she fighter and a badass and a _hero_ , she was also kind. She was the type of person who was always there for others when they needed her...what if she needed someone who could offer that in return? Did she realize that he didn't know the first thing about any of that? Did she realize that he'd done nothing but take from her since they first became a team?

She stood across from him, awaiting an answer, holding her heart in her hands and asking if he wanted it.

And _gods_ he admired her courage.

He let out a long breath through his nose, reminding himself of all the times she'd seen through him so easily. She _knew_ him. She had to know what she was getting herself into.

"I…" he started, _hating_ what he was about to say—the weakness in it—but also certain that he needed to say it. "I don't….I don't know how to do _this_. I don't know how to be good at this." He paused, taking another breath and willing himself to find even a fraction of her courage within himself. "...But I meant what I said before—living your whole life for someone else isn't really living, and your parents don't _want_ you to spend your life trying to make their lives easier. Just….fucking _ask_ them."

She ran both hands through her hair, looking away from him and seeming... _lost_. And maybe there were some things that she didn't know how to do, too.

And maybe it was some deep-rooted heroic instinct inside of him, maybe All Might was _actually_ wearing off in a way that mattered, because a piece of Bakugou ached in response to her pain. He wanted to _help_.

For no other reason than to stop her hurting.

Bakugou didn't know _how_ to help, but damn it all if he couldn't try. Two strides closed most of the distance between them and he stopped in front of her, breathing in her jasmine and lavender scent and trying to determine what to do next.

There was _one_ tried and true method at least, so he willed his fingers not to shake as he reached up and pulled her hands from her hair. He held them in the space between them, just in front of his chest, and rubbed his thumbs over the pads on her fingertips.

He marveled a bit at the roughness of her hands—this soft-looking girl with scars that snagged against his callouses. Marveled also at the fact that he could look at them and name where so many of them came from. They'd already fought so many battles side-by-side.

"Don't think about your parents for a minute," he said, his voice low as he took in the sight of her before him. He wanted to will the uncertainty out of her eyes and replace it with that familiar fire. She chewed on her lip, obviously trying to keep her gaze up at him rather than looking down—good. "Don't think about the pretty fucker or...or _me_ and anything. What do _you_ want, Uraraka? For no other reason than that you _want_ it."

She paused for a long moment, searching his face. Her eyebrows pulled together as some buried spark danced back to life in her eyes.

"I want… _I_ want to help people. To _save_ people. To be a hero that people rely on. The type of hero that people want on their team. You know? I don't want to be support. Or _just_ rescue. I want to really make a difference. And I want people to stop treating me like I'm so...breakable. It's like no matter how many things I do to prove myself it's not enough and _ugh._ "

She stopped again, chewing on her lip. "It's not enough to anyone but...but _you_. I...I want people to look at me the way you do."

The last few words were nothing more than a whisper, and her face was _impossibly_ red. But she'd _said_ them, while he couldn't even form his thoughts into sentences. While he couldn't even work up the courage to put himself out there in any way besides a few brash, impulsive actions.

And in spite of all of that, she seemed to understand. And she was _here_. And he made her feel like she was enough too.

Bakugou brushed his thumbs across her finger pads again, more for himself this time than for her

He'd wanted to kiss her that night in his room, but that had been a fleeting, passionate, desperate feeling. She'd been the one helping him, the one saying all the words he needed to hear and _meaning_ them.

He still wanted to kiss her, but this time...he wanted what came after, too. That whole intimidating mess of emotional... _stuff_...connection—helping her, saying the words that _she_ needed to hear and meaning them—it was…so much more than anything he'd ever wanted before. It was putting faith in someone else as much as in himself. It was giving and taking in equal measure and _not knowing_ but working together to figure it out.

And maybe that was part of what it meant to be _better._

"I want that too," he said, and he didn't know if it was the right thing to say, or if it was what she needed to hear, but it was already so much of his heart laid bare that he wasn't sure if he could muster anything better. "I want that for you, Uraraka….and I want…"

"Y-yes?" she prompted when he stopped, and _gods_ her eyes. They looked into his, that spark and challenge raging through them, but there was also something like...like hope.

She _wanted_ this too, whatever it was. And she didn't know how to say it either.

If she could be brave for him, he could follow her lead, even if it scared the ever-living fuck out of him to do it.

"And...I want _you_ , Uraraka."

(Uraraka)

She stopped breathing.

His thumbs were on her finger pads and his breath was warm against her face and he was _scared_. He was nervous and unsure and he didn't know what to say but he was _trying_.

And _Uraraka couldn't breathe_.

He wanted this enough to put himself out there. He wanted this enough to make himself look weak. He wanted this enough to offer up a part of himself that he didn't show to anyone.

He wanted _her_ enough.

And she hadn't realized that those words were all she really needed to hear.

All along, the Sports Festival and everything after, he'd made her feel like she was _enough_. She never felt like there was more she _had_ to prove to him, only more that she _wanted_ to prove to him, and that made all the difference.

"I—" she started, her voice a little choked. And then she couldn't help it—all the tension, all the fear and the pain and the pent up feelings, all of her _frustration_ with herself and her heart, all her doubts about Naegi and all the joyful ache she felt for Bakugou—it all came pouring out of her in a laugh that started deep in her stomach and bubbled up out of her like a pot that finally reached its boiling point.

She entwined her fingers through his, ignoring his confused (bemused) scowl. "I want _you_ , too, Bakugou. But I _have_ to talk to Naegi first. I'll make him understand."

"And if he doesn't?"

Uraraka took a deep breath, knowing that Naegi very well might _not_ understand, that he might fire her parents or coerce her to stay. But being a hero meant having faith in other people, too. It meant thinking that others would do the right thing, and Naegi had never seemed like the malicious type.

"We _hope_ that he does," she said, the giddy grin refusing to leave her face as she gave his calloused fingers a squeeze. She stood on on her toes, trying to get closer to him without actually touching him beyond his hands—the happiness practically radiating from her was something she wanted to will into him, too, though she thought he might already be feeling it judging by the careful light in his eyes. "And we have faith in him to be good. And if not...then we cross that bridge when we get there. We...we're a _team_ Bakugou. Whatever happens."

He opened his mouth to say something, but a voice from the dorm entrance burst through the bubble they'd wrapped themselves up in.

"Bakugou! Uraraka! It is three minutes past curfew!" Iida said, standing in the doorway in his pajamas. "What are you still doing outside at this time? Please come in and get ready for bed."

Bakugou growled, but Uraraka laughed.

"Coming, Iida!" she called backed, pulling her hands away from Bakugou's to roll up her yoga mat. They'd been positioned with Bakugou's back to the dorms, so all Iida would have been able to see would have been him. Not that Uraraka _cared_ if anyone saw her holding hands with Bakugou, but she would like to officially end things with Naegi first.

"Saturday," she whispered up at Bakugou, trying and failing to wipe the smile off her face as she straightened and walked with him to where Iida waited. "While you're at your exam, I'll ask Naegi to meet."

"And then?"

Uraraka laughed again. Stubborn jerk, making her do all the talking, but he'd said the big things first, and she didn't really mind. "Then...we figure this out."

He didn't say anything else, but she _swore_ she saw the corner of his mouth twitch upward as he knocked his shoulder into hers while they squeezed past Iida through the door.

And for the first time in a long time, everything felt wonderfully, exquisitely, unbelievably _right._

* * *

A/N: I am pleased with this one. And I don't say that often. I hope you liked! Please review!


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